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Diggs was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in Rochester, New York.[2] His mother, Marcia (née Berry), is a teacher and actress, and his father, Andre Young, is a visual artist. When he was a child, his mother married Jeffries Diggs, whose surname Taye took.[3][4] His nickname, Taye, comes from the playful pronunciation of Scotty as "Scottay".[5] He is the oldest of five children.[6] He has two brothers, Gabriel and Michael, and two sisters. He attended Allendale Columbia School in Rochester and later transferred to School of the Arts. He received a BFA in musical theater from Syracuse University.

Diggs performed many times at the popular Lakes Region Summer Theatre in Meredith, New Hampshire. He also spent a summer at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire. His Broadway debut was in the ensemble cast of the 1994 Tony Award-winning revival of the musical Carousel. In 1995, he also performed as a dancer in Sebastian's Caribbean Carnival at Tokyo Disneyland.

Diggs portrayed the title character on the short-lived UPN television series Kevin Hill which despite critical acclaim was not renewed for a second season. He reprised the role of Benny for the 2005 Rent film. Diggs is featured on the following cast recordings: Carousel 1994 revival cast; Rent 1996 original Broadway cast; The Wild Party original off-Broadway cast. He also sings on the Rent film soundtrack. In 2002, he reprised his role as the Bandleader in the film adaptation of Chicago, and also played opposite Christian Bale as Bale's partner/antagonist Brandt in the dystopian sci-fi thriller Equilibrium.

In 2003, Diggs appeared on the TV show Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton Kutcher, while getting a check-up at a Punk'd-operated doctor's office. In early 2006, Diggs guest-starred for several episodes as Will Truman's love interest, James, on the final season of Will & Grace. In May, ABC picked up his pilot, Day Break, in which he portrayed a detective trapped in the same day and forced to relive it to clear his name of murder; the show debuted in mid-November 2006, but was abruptly canceled due to poor ratings. Although his film and television career continue to move forward, he still returns to the stage frequently. He was seen opposite James McDaniel in Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play at Second Stage Theatre in New York.

In 2015, Diggs wrote two children's book, Mixed Me! and Chocolate Me, illustrated by Shane W. Evans and published by FSG.

Diggs performed the role of the titular character Hedwig in the Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Belasco Theatre from July 22, 2015 until the production's closing on September 13, 2015.

Diggs married actress Idina Menzel, his Rent co-star, on January 11, 2003. Their son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs, was born on September 2, 2009. In 2013, Diggs and Menzel separated after ten years of marriage.[12] Their divorce was finalized on December 3, 2014.[13]

Diggs is the co-artistic director of a dance company, Dre.dance, with fellow Broadway veteran and School of the Arts alumnus Andrew Palermo.[14]

In 2012, in the "Dr. Klaustus" episode of the animated series American Dad!, the character Roger sees a picture of Diggs in a magazine and comments that he is "still perfect". He refers to Diggs as "my constant, my ebony north star".

On the ABC/TBS television series Cougar Town, the character Laurie Keller is shown to have a crush on Diggs. She describes his smile as one that "lights up the world" and has numerous pictures of him in her apartment.

1.
Texas Book Festival
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The Texas Book Festival is a free annual book fair held in Austin, Texas. The festival was established in 1995 by Laura Bush, then the First Lady of Texas, the first festival took place at the Capitol in November 1996. The festival takes place in late October or early November and it is frequently cited as one of the top book festivals in the U. S. The festival was created to benefit the states public library system, promotes the joy of reading. Since then, the festival has expanded, with a focus on nationally known authors. The revised mission statement, The Texas Book Festival connects authors and readers through experiences that celebrate the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. With the assistance of Honorary Chairman and librarian, Mrs. Bush, and a task force and it grew to hosting about 250 authors each year and attracting more than 40,000 attendees. Each year, the festival honors a writer with the Bookend Award for outstanding contribution to the literature of Texas, in addition to the award event, the festival includes childrens books, crafts, and costumed characters. Official website Photos of the 2015 festival The Austin Chronicles full coverage of the current/latest festival

2.
Newark, New Jersey
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Newark is the most populous city in the U. S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. For 2015, the Census Bureaus Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 281,944, Newark is the second largest city in the New York metropolitan area, located approximately 8 miles west of lower Manhattan. Settled in 1666 by Puritans from New Haven Colony, Newark is one of the oldest European cities in the United States and its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, has made the citys waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Today, Port Newark-Elizabeth is the container shipping terminal of the busiest seaport on the American East Coast. In addition, Newark Liberty International Airport was the first municipal airport in the United States. Several leading companies have their headquarters in Newark, including Prudential, PSEG, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Audible. com, IDT Corporation, the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sits in the city as well. Local cultural venues include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark Symphony Hall, The Prudential Center and the Newark Museum. Newark is divided into five wards, the East, West, South, North and Central wards. Newarks Branch Brook Park is the oldest county park in the United States and is home to the nations largest collection of cherry blossom trees, Newark was settled in 1666 by Connecticut Puritans led by Robert Treat from the New Haven Colony. It was conceived as an assembly of the faithful, though this did not last for long as new settlers came with different ideas. On October 31,1693 it was organized as a New Jersey township based on the Newark Tract, Newark was granted a Royal charter on April 27,1713. It was incorporated on February 21,1798 by the New Jersey Legislatures Township Act of 1798, during its time as a township, portions were taken to form Springfield Township, Caldwell Township, Orange Township, Bloomfield Township and Clinton Township. Newark was reincorporated as a city on April 11,1836, replacing Newark Township, the previously independent Vailsburg borough was annexed by Newark on January 1,1905. In 1926, South Orange Township changed its name to Maplewood, as a result of this, a portion of Maplewood known as Ivy Hill was re-annexed to Newarks Vailsburg. During the American Revolutionary War British troops made several raids into the town, the city has experienced revitalization since the 1990s. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had an area of 26.107 square miles. It has the third-smallest land area among the 100 most populous cities in the U. S. behind neighboring Jersey City and Hialeah, the citys altitude ranges from 0 in the east to approximately 230 feet above sea level in the western section of the city. Newark is essentially a large basin sloping towards the Passaic River, historically, Newarks high places have been its wealthier neighborhoods

3.
Syracuse University
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Syracuse University, commonly referred to as Syracuse, Cuse, or SU, is a private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. The institutions roots can be traced to the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded in 1831 by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lima, after several years of debate over relocating the college to Syracuse, the university was established in 1870, independent of the college. Since 1920, the university has identified itself as nonsectarian, although it maintains a relationship with The United Methodist Church, the campus is in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, east and southeast of downtown, on one of the larger hills. Its large campus features a mix of buildings, ranging from nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival structures to contemporary buildings. Syracuse University athletic teams, known as the Orange, participate in 20 intercollegiate sports, SU is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for all NCAA Division I athletics, except for the mens rowing and womens ice hockey teams. SU is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lima, New York, south of Rochester. In 1850, it was resolved to enlarge the institution from a seminary into a college, or to connect a college with the seminary, however, the location was soon thought by many to be insufficiently central. Its difficulties were compounded by the set of technological changes. The trustees of the college then decided to seek a locale whose economic. Meanwhile, there were years of dispute between the Methodist ministers, Lima, and contending cities across the state, over proposals to move Genesee College to Syracuse. At the time, the ministers wanted a share of the funds from the Morrill Land Grant Act for Genesee College and they agreed to a quid pro quo donation of $25,000 from Senator Cornell in exchange for their support for his bill. Cornell insisted the bargain be written into the bill and Cornell became New York States Land Grant University in 1865. In 1869, Genesee College obtained New York State approval to move to Syracuse, but Lima got an injunction to block the move. By that time, however, the injunction had been made moot by the founding of a new university on March 24,1870. On that date the State of New York granted the new Syracuse University its own charter, the City of Syracuse had offered $100,000 to establish the school. Bishop Jesse Truesdell Peck had donated $25,000 to the school and was elected the first president of the Board of Trustees. Rev. Daniel Steele, a former Genesee College president, served as the first administrative leader of Syracuse until its Chancellor was appointed, the university opened in September 1871 in rented space downtown. George F. Comstock, a member of the new Universitys Board of Trustees, had offered the school 50 acres of farmland on a hillside to the southeast of the city center

4.
Idina Menzel
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Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Menzel rose to prominence when she originated the role of Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical Rent and her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination in 1996. She reprised the role in the musicals 2005 film adaptation, in 2003, Menzel originated the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Menzel returned to Broadway as Elizabeth Vaughan in the 2014 musical If/Then, the song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Menzel the first Tony Award-winning actress to reach the top 10. She ultimately won a Grammy award for the films soundtrack and her album Holiday Wishes was released in 2014 and reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart, making it her highest charting album to date. Idina Kim Mentzel was born on May 30,1971 and her birthplace is varyingly reported as either Queens or Syosset. She grew up in Syosset, the daughter of Helene, a therapist, and Stuart Mentzel and she has a younger sister named Cara. Menzels family is Jewish, and her grandparents emigrated from Eastern Europe, Idina changed the spelling of her surname to Menzel to better reflect the pronunciation the Mentzel family had adopted in America. She was friends with actor Adam Pascal before they worked together in Rent, in 1995, Menzel auditioned for Rent, which became her first professional theatre job and her Broadway debut. Rent opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 26,1996 and her final performance in the musical was on July 1,1997. Production of Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in Aida, Menzel earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance as Kate in the Manhattan Theatre Clubs 2000 off-Broadway production of Andrew Lippas The Wild Party. Her other off-Broadway credits include the run of Rent and The Vagina Monologues. Menzel received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba, during her penultimate performance of Wicked on January 8,2005, she fell through a trap door and cracked a lower rib. The injury prevented her from performing in her show on January 9. Menzel did, however, make a special appearance at that performance, performed her final song. Menzel was replaced by Elphaba standby Shoshana Bean and she reprised her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked when it opened at Londons Apollo Victoria Theatre on September 7,2006. During her run, she was the highest paid performer in the West End at $30,000 per week. Menzel finished her West End run on December 30,2006 and she was succeeded by Elphaba standby Kerry Ellis

5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

6.
Rent (film)
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Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, the film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, drugs, paying their rent, and life under the shadow of AIDS. It takes place in the East Village of New York City from 1989 to 1990, the film features six of the original Broadway cast members reprising their roles. On Christmas Eve 1989, aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen, and his roommate, Roger Davis, learn that the rent previously waived by their old friend and landlord and their former roommate Tom Collins shows up and gets mugged. Mark and Roger meet with Benny, who tells them he plans to evict the homeless from the nearby lot and he offers them free rent if they get Maureen, Marks ex-girlfriend, to cancel her protest against his plans, but they refuse. A street drummer, Angel, finds Collins and they bond since they have AIDS, Roger, who is HIV-positive and a former drug addict, tries to compose his one last great song. Hes visited by his downstairs neighbor, Mimi, an exotic dancer, on Christmas Day, Mark and Roger are visited by Collins and Angel, bearing gifts. They invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, an AIDS support group, Roger turns them down, while Mark goes to fix Maureens sound equipment. He runs into Joanne, Maureens new girlfriend, who bonds with him as they discuss Maureens promiscuity, Mark arrives at the Life Support meeting. He films the meeting for the documentary hes making about people living with HIV/AIDS, Roger, whose ex-girlfriend died of HIV/AIDS, rebukes her advances and throws her out. The next day, he joins Mark, Collins and Angel at a Life Support meeting, leaving the meeting, the group imagines what it would be like to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Roger and Mark leave to help Maureen set up for her performance, Maureen performs her song that calls out Benny for changing who he was when he got married and blames him for trying to shut down the tent city. The performance starts a riot because Benny called in police to make sure the protest stayed peaceful, once the protest is over, the group goes to The Life Cafe and celebrates Mark selling his riot footage to a local news station. Roger and Mimi reveal they are falling for other. They share a kiss and continue celebrating with their friends, on New Years Day, Benny has padlocked the apartment, but Angel breaks the lock with a garbage can. Mark takes a job at Buzzline, the news program he sold his riot footage to. After another fight, Maureen proposes to Joanne, the relationship ends when Maureen flirts with another woman at the engagement party, after being persuaded by Mimi, his ex-girlfriend, Benny gives the group back their apartment. Over the following year, Roger grows distrustful of Mimi, Angels condition gets worse and she dies in Collins arms

7.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by a transgender East German singer, Hedwig Robinson. The book is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music, the story draws on Mitchells life as the son of a U. S. Army Major General who once commanded the U. S. sector of occupied West Berlin. The character of Hedwig was inspired by a German divorced U. S. Army wife who was a Mitchell family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her Junction City, Kansas, trailer park home. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock style of David Bowie, as well as the work of John Lennon and early punk performers Lou Reed, the musical opened Off-Broadway in 1998, and won the Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical. The production ran for two years, and was remounted with various casts by the creative team in other US cities. In 2000, the musical had a London West End production, in 2014, the show saw its first Broadway incarnation, opening that April at the Belasco Theatre and winning the years Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The production closed on September 13,2015, a national tour of the show began at San Franciscos Golden Gate Theatre on October 2,2016. The character of Hedwig was originally a character in the piece. She was loosely inspired by a German female babysitter/prostitute who worked for Mitchells family when he was a teenager in Junction City, Kansas. The character of Tommy, originally conceived as the character, was based on Mitchell himself. They agreed the piece should be developed through band gigs in clubs rather than in a setting in order to preserve a rock energy. Mitchell was deeply influenced by Squeezeboxs roster of performers who performed rock covers. A German glam rendition of Debby Boones You Light Up My Life once served as the musicals finale, Mitchells second gig was as fill-in host at Squeezebox on a bill featuring singer Deborah Harry of Blondie. It was for this occasion that Mike Potter first designed Hedwigs trademark wig, Mitchell has explained that Hedwig is not a trans woman, but a genderqueer character. Shes more than a woman or a man, he has said, shes a gender of one and that is accidentally so beautiful. The concept of the production is that the audience is watching genderqueer rockstar Hedwig Robinsons musical act as she follows rockstar Tommy Gnosiss tour around the country. Occasionally Hedwig opens a door onstage to listen to Gnosiss concert, Gnosis is recovering from an incident that nearly ruined his career, having crashed his car into a school bus while high and receiving oral sex from none other than Hedwig herself. Capitalizing on her notoriety from the incident, Hedwig determines to tell the audience her story and she is aided and hindered by her assistant, back-up singer and husband, Yitzhak

8.
Private Practice (TV series)
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Private Practice is an American medical drama television series which aired on ABC from September 26,2007, to January 22,2013. Private Practice also revolves around Addisons co-workers at Seaside Wellness Center, and how they deal with patients, on May 11,2012, Private Practice was renewed for a sixth season. The sixth season was the first not to feature Tim Daly and was announced on October 19,2012, the series finale aired on January 22,2013. Reruns can be seen in syndication on some local ABC stations, on February 21,2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was pursuing a spin-off of Greys Anatomy featuring Kate Walshs character Addison Montgomery. Subsequent reports confirmed the report, stating that an expanded two-hour broadcast of Greys Anatomy would serve as a pilot for the spinoff. The backdoor pilot episode features Montgomery on leave from Seattle Grace Hospital, the broadcast served as the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season, and was directed by Michael Grossman, according to Variety. Gossip columnists Kristin Veitch and Michael Ausiello reported that the spinoff would be set in Los Angeles, the cast included Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Chris Lowell, and Merrin Dungey. The 2-hour episode averaged 21 million viewers,1.9 million more viewers than Greys Anatomys third season 19.1 million viewers-per-episode average at the time of its airing, the episode was also No.1 in the 9,00 pm and 10,00 pm timeslots. On May 5,2007, it was announced, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the first TV promo for the series aired during the season finale of Greys Anatomy, on May 17,2007. The series premiere aired on September 26,2007, averaging 14.41 million viewers being the most watched show in its time slot, the series premiered on British television on July 15,2008, on LIVING. It was later moved to Thursday at 10,00 pm after Greys Anatomy during mid-season 2009, on June 29,2007, it was announced by ABC that Merrin Dungey, who played the role of Naomi Bennett, would be replaced by four time Tony winner Audra McDonald. ABC gave no reason for this change, on July 11,2007, it was announced that a new character, played by KaDee Strickland, had been added to the main cast. Tony Award Winner Idina Menzel appeared in two episodes during the second season, Menzel was married to Private Practice star Taye Diggs. David Sutcliffe, Jayne Brook, and Josh Hopkins also appeared in Private Practice, Private Practice films a lot of their exterior shots in Santa Monica, California. The Oceanside Group building can be found at the corner of 4th and Wilshire in Santa Monica, Addison Montgomery and Sam Bennett live in rare Malibu beachfront houses right on the sand, which in reality would cost upwards of $4 million each. The first season deals with Addisons move from Seattle to Los Angeles and her attempts to adjust to a different type of working environment at Oceanside Wellness Group. The first season deals with her budding relationships with her new co-workers. Among them include her best friend Naomi Bennett, a fertility specialist, and Naomis ex-husband Sam Bennett, also working within the practice is psychiatrist Violet Turner, pediatrician Cooper Freedman, alternative medicine specialist Pete Wilder, and receptionist Dell Parker

9.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
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How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillans bestselling novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, the original music score was composed by Michel Colombier. As she soaks in the beauty of the island, she encounters a handsome young islander, Winston Shakespeare, how Stella Got Her Groove Back currently holds a 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 reviews. In its opening weekend, Stella grossed $11,318,919, the film would go on to gross $36,672,941 domestically and an additional $1,605,781 overseas for a worldwide total of $39,278,722. From an estimated $20 million budget, this can be considered a moderate success, a soundtrack containing mostly R&B and reggae music was released on August 11,1998, by MCA Records. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified gold on September 22,1998

10.
Brown Sugar (2002 film)
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Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of a friends, A&R Andre. The two can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single, seminal childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isnt the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner. The movie was released in the US on October 11,2002 and ran for 16 weeks, grossing $27,363,891 domestically and they have been bound together since their early childhood. The news that Dre is preparing to be married to Reese, suddenly, she doesnt seem to know how to behave around Dre anymore, and an impulsive kiss on the eve before his wedding sends fissures of doubt cracking in every direction. Dre gets married and begins to settle into his life when a decision to sign an untalented and he decides to quit his job and start his own record company, focusing on bringing back the real hip hop that his generation fell in love with. Reese, however, is not understanding and thus not supportive of this venture, additionally, as Sidney draws closer to Dre due to their partnership in the label, jealousy develops over Dre and Sidneys friendship. Sidney, who also has begun to live her life with a relationship with Kelby receives a proposal from her boyfriend which she accepts. Turmoil ensues when Dre finds out Reese has been having secret liaisons with a man from the gym, Dre brings Sid to bust her in the act. This leads to a night of shared passion between Dre and Sid and opens Sids eyes to the fact she is not prepared to get married to Kelby. She calls off the engagement and while searching for Dre sees Reese, while at Hot 97 waiting for Cavis first single to play on the Angie Martinez show, Dre hears Sid talking about her new book I Used to Love H. I. M. Though based on her affair with hip hop, it really is a chronicled time line of her love affair with Dre. He recognizes this and rushes over to the station to confront his feelings, meanwhile in the production booth, Sids cousin Francine finally asks Cavi out on a date, which is something he has been trying for since their first meeting. The film ends with Cavis song playing in the park where their love of hip hop began. It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Brown Sugar at the Internet Movie Database Brown Sugar at Rotten Tomatoes Brown Sugar at AllMovie Brown Sugar at Box Office Mojo

11.
The Best Man (1999 film)
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The Best Man is a 1999 American romantic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It was produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, with Lees cousin, Spike Lee, the film stars Taye Diggs and Nia Long. A Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, was released on November 15,2013 with a reunited cast, Harper Stewart is a young man living in Chicago with his beautiful and devoted girlfriend, Robyn. However, Harper has a life as an author and is on the verge of a major breakthrough. He is hesitant about committing to a woman, Harpers debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprahs Book Club, pretty much guaranteeing him a bestseller. Harper travels to New York City, where his best friend, Lance, who is a back for the New York Giants, is getting married to a young lady named Mia. Harper is picked up at the airport by his friend, Murch, eventually, they meet up with Jordan, Harpers old what-could-have-been female friend who has obtained an advanced copy of his book and has been passing it around their inner circle of friends. Due to its nature, Harper never intended for any of them to read Unfinished Business prior to the wedding. The guys meet up with Quentin, who congratulates Harper for the book, Harper chastises Quentin for not being able to settle down both with work and with women. Through a series of flashbacks, it is shown that Lance and Mia met through Harper, meanwhile, Murch has been stuck in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend and Mias sorority sister Shelby, which none of the guys approve. Later on that night, Harper finds out that Lance has obtained a copy of his book and is eager to read it. This unsettles Harper, who is now worried that Lance may discover that both his wife, Mia and Harper had a one-night stand several years ago. Jordan confesses to reading the book and still having sexual chemistry with Harper, the two share a kiss in the church before leaving. The situation comes to a head later that night, when Quentin has a bachelor party planned for Lance, Murch has a moment where he stands up to Shelby and her controlling ways, earning the praise of the fellas. During the bachelor party, Harper is able to obtain Lances copy of Unfinished Business, to the disgust of Quentin, also, Murch ends up falling for a stripper by the name of Candy. Lance realizes that his copy of the book is in Harpers coat, while Lance reads the book, a flashback shows that Lance cheated on Mia and when Harper went to comfort her, she decided to sleep with Harper in order to get back at Lance. Enraged, Lance snaps and nearly beats Harper to death, culminating in Lance preparing to throw Harper over the balcony ledge, although Quentin calmly manages to talk Lance out of it, Lance calls off the wedding instead. Quentin gives Harper a look of disapproval before leaving, as Harper has brought all of this on himself, a beat-up and bruised Harper goes to meet up with Jordan

12.
The Best Man Holiday
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The Best Man Holiday is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It is the sequel to the 1999 film, The Best Man, the film was released on November 15,2013 by Universal Pictures. All the friends arrive at the house, the first time theyve come together in 14 years, at dinner, the old friends catch up while tensions grow between Shelby and Candace. Years after his novel, Harper is struggling with writers block, financial difficulties. He has also been relieved of his faculty position at New York University. He kept all this from Robyn, as she is pregnant with their first child after years of expensive fertility treatments. His agent suggests he write a biography on his friend, Lance. Harper reluctantly agrees, but keeps the biography a secret, the Murch family, which now includes two daughters, seems to be doing well. Julian opened the school he has worked hard to establish, with his wife, former stripper Candace, as his head of admissions. His main donor, however, abruptly ends his relationship with the school and Julian, he has been aware of Candaces past. It is then that Julian finds a YouTube video of his wife stripping and accepting money for sex at a fraternity party and he confides in Q and shows him part of the video. Robyn is still insecure about Harper and Jordans friendship, Q is now a successful brand manager and heavily connected to prominent celebrities. After arriving at the Sullivan home, Harper notices Mias dramatic weight loss, the next day, Brian says goodbye to Jordan and leaves for his familys annual Christmas gathering in Vermont. As he leaves, Jordan tells him that, while she loves him, after dinner that night, the men dance and lip-sync to Can You Stand the Rain for the ladies to great response. All the couples in the house have sex that night, while Lance gives Mia a back-rub, Harper goes down to the kitchen, and as he heads back to bed, he finds Mia throwing up blood. Mia reveals to Harper that she was diagnosed with more than a year ago and is dying. After Lance walks in on the two talking, Mia explains to Lance that Harper knows and they both ask Harper to keep the condition a secret. At breakfast the morning, Q and Shelby accidentally switch phones

13.
Murder in the First (TV series)
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Murder in the First is an American detective anthology drama television series that airs on TNT. The series was created by Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal, and stars Taye Diggs, set in San Francisco, the show follows a single case across an entire season. The series aired for three seasons from June 9,2014, to September 4,2016, on October 11,2016, the series was canceled by TNT. In the second season, as San Francisco recovers from a school bus massacre, English, Taye Diggs as Terry English, a homicide inspector with the San Francisco Police Department who struggles to cope with his wifes death. Kathleen Robertson as Hildy Mulligan, Englishs partner and a mother who juggles raising her daughter. Jamie McShane as Justin Burnside, a technician from the Medical Examiners office. Camille Balsamo as Kami Keefer, the homicide squads technology expert who has a crush on Hildy Mulligan, Steven Weber as Bill Wilkerson, Blunts long-time friend, chauffeur and pilot whose marriage is put in jeopardy following Blunts arrest. James Cromwell as Warren Daniels, a well-known yet unscrupulous criminal attorney who is hired to represent Blunt. Richard Schiff as David Hertzberg, Blunts personal and corporate attorney, bess Rous as Ivana West, the chief technology officer of Erich Blunts company and one of Blunts personal mistresses. Nicole Ari Parker as District Attorney Jacqueline Perez, who is having an affair with Jim Koto, peter Onorati as Jimmy Salter, a former police sergeant turned head of security of Blunts company. J. Marcus Hopson as Fatty B, Sugars right-hand man, mateus Ward as Dustin Maker, one of two high school boys participating in the bus shooting before being captured by the SFPD. He is later given the penalty for his role in the crime. Jimmy Bennett as Alfie Rentman, the second boy participating in the shooting, spencer Garrett as Dr. Frank Rentman, Alfies father, a psychiatrist who diagnoses Alfies mental illness. Laura Regan as Mary Rentman, Alfies mother, who appears to be in denial about Alfies mental state, kaleb Peat, a member of the squad and Walt Martinss partner, who commits suicide after Martins funeral. Walt Martin, a member of the squad, and Peats partner, who is presumed to be shot by Alfie Rentman, jade Tailor as Alyssa, a stripper with whom Det. TNT ordered 10 episodes on September 19,2013, which premiered on June 9,2014, on September 12,2014, TNT renewed Murder in the First for a 12-episode second season, which began on June 8,2015. Murder in the First scored 68 out of 100, in its first season, on Metacritic based on 20 generally favorable reviews and its second season scored 67, based on four reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes currently reports a 73% certified fresh rating with an average rating of 6. 8/10 based on 22 reviews

14.
Rochester, New York
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Rochester is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in the western portion of the U. S. state of New York, and the seat of Monroe County. The citys population was the third largest — after New York City. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,079,671 at the time of the 2010 Census, a Census estimate of July 1,2012, raised that number to 1,082,284. Rochester was one of Americas first boomtowns, and rose to prominence as the site of many mills along the Genesee River. Several of the universities have renowned research programs. In addition, Rochester is the site of important inventions and innovations in consumer products. Until 2010, the Rochester metropolitan area was the second-largest regional economy in New York State, internal Revenue Service, after the New York City metropolitan area. Rochesters GMP has since ranked just below that of Buffalo, New York, the 25th edition of the Places Rated Almanac rated Rochester as the most livable city in 2007, among 379 U. S. metropolitan areas. In 2010 Forbes rated Rochester as the third-best place to raise a family, in 2012 Kiplinger rated Rochester as the fifth-best city for families, citing low cost of living, top public schools, and a low jobless rate. Of the 19 places in the United States named Rochester at least eight were named directly after Rochester, New York, having been founded or settled by former residents. These include Rochester, Indiana, Rochester, Texas, Rochester, Iowa, Rochester, Kentucky, Rochester, Michigan, Rochester, Minnesota, Rochester, Nevada, and Rochester, Ohio. The Seneca tribe of Native Americans lived in and around Rochester until they lost their claim to most of land in the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797. Settlement before the Seneca tribe is unknown, development of modern Rochester followed the American Revolution, and forced cession of their territory by the Iroquois after the defeat of Great Britain. Allied with the British, four major Iroquois tribes were forced from New York. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a land grant on the Grand River in Canada. Rochester was founded shortly after the American Revolution by a wave of English-Puritan descended immigrants from New England who were looking for new agricultural land and they would be the dominant cultural group in Rochester for over a century. They chose the site because its three cataracts on the Genesee offered great potential for water power, beginning in 1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville, by 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County

15.
Allendale Columbia School
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Allendale Columbia School is an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory school for students in nursery through twelfth grade in Rochester, New York, USA. Allendale Columbia students come from 28 different school districts in the greater Rochester, New York region, the school was named by Worth magazine as of one the top 100 feeder schools to Ivy League Universities. Thirty-nine of the faculty hold advanced degrees with a teaching experience of 18 years. Allendale Columbia School is located on over 30 acres in Pittsford, the school is separated into three divisions, Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. The students change buildings for classes and utilize the entire campus throughout their day. In 2012, the school opened residences for students and it hosts 25-35 international students from as many as 15 different countries. In 2013, students began organizing and hosting an annual TEDx conference on campus, in 2014, Allendale Columbia School created a summerLEAP partnership with School 17 of the Rochester City School District to provide summer enrichment programs for RCSD students. In 2015, the school unveiled a new design and innovation laboratory with 3D printers, Mac computers, drafting tables and that year, the school also partnered with the Hybrid Learning Consortium. It creates a globalized learning community offering a variety of online courses to students around the world. In 2016, the school celebrated its 125th anniversary, Allendale Columbia School is merged with The Harley School for the purpose of interscholastic sports competition in grades 7 through 12. The two schools began co-ordinating their athletic programs during the 1972–1973 school year, the joint program is referred to as Harley Allendale Columbia and originally competed as the Harley-Allendale Columbia Braves. In 1997, students of both schools voted to change the name from the Braves to the Wolves. Team supporters are known as the Wolfpack, the tennis team is the strongest part of their sports program — it received seventh place at the national high school tournament in California despite the small size of their schools. The HAC enforces a no-cut athletic program, and varsity places are guaranteed for any committed seniors, the HAC co-ordination exists to enhance the interscholastic athletic program of both schools by combining student bodies and resources, as well as faculty for coaching purposes

16.
School of the Arts (Rochester, New York)
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School of the Arts is a progressive alternative public middle school and high school in Rochester, NY. The School of the Arts was founded in 1980 as a program at Wilson Jr. In 1981, the transferred to Monroe High School as was known as the School of the Arts at Monroe. Only grades 7-9 were represented that year, the school stayed at Monroe for many years, eventually becoming a full Jr-Sr. High School, while retaining the name School of the Arts at Monroe, until it moved into its current space, when it became The School of the Arts. School of the Arts has many different after-school arts programs, called Tenth Period, Tenth Period is a class that is offers the following classes, Dance, Jazz Band, Theater Technology, Photography, Visual Arts, and Creative Writing. However, Tenth Period was canceled during the 2008-2009 school year, another reason for the cancellation of Tenth Period was due to a budget problem. Now Tenth Period is used for test prep, and students have to be accompanied with a teacher, if they are staying after-school. School of the Arts students can audition into the school one of the following majors, drama, theatre technology, dance, instrumental, vocal, visual arts. Students then starting in their freshman year receive two back to back forty two minute classes of their major for the rest of high school, students are able to learn and expand their knowledge and love for their art. Students are also able to join various programs by audition, as in other schools, School Of The Arts has academic classes and arts classes. SOTA offers Honors and Advanced Placement classes, Special Education, Spanish 1,2,3, students carry a full academic course load as well as a fine arts sequence. On June 4,2009, SOTA received the Signature Schools Enterprise Award and they were one out of six schools that won the award, which comes with a $5,000 grant. During this award ceremony, students held a silent protest while standing in the lobby with their mouths covered with duct tape. On June 9,2009, SOTA students held another protest against the plan proposed by former Superintendent Brizard that plans to cut teachers. The students marched from school to RCSD headquarters and back to City Hall, where they performed things including tap dance, poetry reading, Jazz band, and choir outside of the entrance. Sota puts on two musicals and three plays a year, as well as an annual Dance Concert, music recitals, poetry readings/coffee houses, the school and its programs have been continually threatened by proposed budget cuts. Protests and rallies have been organized by the students each year in protest of these cuts and these cuts planned to cut the number of arts teachers from 24 to 10, and reducing the funding for the arts program down to $2.93 per student, per day

17.
Meredith, New Hampshire
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Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,241 at the 2010 census, Meredith is situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee. It is home to the Stonedam Island Natural Area and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, Meredith was first known as Palmers Town in honor of Samuel Palmer, a teacher of surveying and navigation who laid out much of the land surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee. In 1748, it was one of the first towns to have a charter granted by the Masonian Proprietors, many grantees were from Salem, Massachusetts, so Palmers Town was renamed New Salem. Farmers grew corn, wheat, rye and potatoes, but the area noted for apple orchards. The outlet of Lake Waukewan provided water power sites, and by 1859 Meredith village had a sawmill, gristmill, shingle mill, blacksmith shop, harness-makers shop, situated at the outlet of Wickwas Lake, Meredith Center had a sawmill, gristmill and blacksmith shop. Connected by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad in March 1849, passengers also arrived from the Alton Bay depot aboard steamboats, the most famous of which was the original SS Mount Washington, launched in 1872. Meredith remains a popular tourist destination, according to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 54.2 square miles, of which 39.9 square miles is land and 14.3 square miles or 26. 37% is water. The highest point in Meredith is the summit of Leavitt Mountain, elevation 1,414 feet above sea level, in the southwestern part of town. Meredith village, formally defined by the U. S. Census Bureau as the Meredith census-designated place, has an area of 1.9 sq mi.1.5 sq mi of it is land and 0.39 sq mi of it is water. Meredith village is the hub of the town, and lies between the northern tip of Meredith Bay, one of several large arms of Lake Winnipesaukee. A second village, Meredith Center, is located near the shores of Lake Wickwas closer the center of the town. Meredith Center has much commercial development than Meredith Village, being located near several protected state forests. The town is crossed by U. S. Route 3, New Hampshire Route 25, New Hampshire Route 104, like many other towns of the Lakes Region, Meredith is dominated by several large bodies of water. Bear Island, the second largest on Winnipesaukee, and Stonedam Island, several smaller lakes lie between Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam, including Wickwas Lake and Pemigewasset Lake. Lake Waukewan forms the edge of the Meredith Village CDP. As of the census of 2000, there were 5,943 people,2,447 households, the population density was 147.9 persons per square mile. There were 4,191 housing units at a density of 104.3 per square mile

18.
New London, New Hampshire
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New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,397 at the 2010 census, in 1753, the Masonian Proprietors of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, granted the area now called New London as Heidelberg. Although it appears on some New Hampshire maps, the township was never settled, in 1773, roughly the same area was awarded as the Alexandria Addition to a new group of speculators, who had previously been granted the adjacent township of Alexandria. These proprietors were led by Jonas Minot of Concord, Massachusetts, none built dwellings in the Alexandria Addition. Instead they recruited settlers to build roads, mills, schools, nearly all of the original settlers came from Massachusetts, either from the Amesbury area of the north shore or from the Attleboro area in the southeast. The township proprietors soon began a long, systematic process of subdividing and selling their properties at great profit, the first town meeting was held on August 3,1779. In 1807, the half of New London was annexed, merged with an area called Kearsarge Gore. In the early 19th century, there were three additions to New London, including the village of Otterville in 1817. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 25.6 square miles, of which 22.5 sq mi is land and 3.1 sq mi is water. The highest point in town is Morgan Hill, approximately 1,770 feet above sea level, the town is crossed by Interstate 89, which serves New London with two exits, and by New Hampshire Routes 11, 103A, and 114. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,116 people,1,574 households, the population density was 182.9 people per square mile. There were 2,085 housing units at a density of 92.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98. 35% White,0. 22% African American,0. 05% Native American,0. 73% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 19% from other races, and 0. 44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 63% of the population,29. 4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18. 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the family size was 2.63. In the town, the population was out with 14. 3% under the age of 18,18. 4% from 18 to 24,14. 5% from 25 to 44,23. 0% from 45 to 64. The median age was 47 years, for every 100 females there were 78.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.7 males, the median income for a household in the town was $61,520, and the median income for a family was $82,201

19.
Tony Award
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The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre, several discretionary non-competitive awards are also given, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards are named after Antoinette Tony Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, the rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wings Tony Awards, which applies for that season only. It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is someone who has won all four awards, the Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Award in the United Kingdom and the Molière Award of France. From 1997 to 2010, the Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS television, except in 1999, in 2011 and 2012, the ceremony was held at the Beacon Theatre. From 2013 to 2015, the 67th, 68th, and 69th ceremonies returned to Radio City Music Hall, the 70th Tony Awards were held on June 12,2016 at the Beacon Theatre. The 71st Tony Awards will be held on June 11,2017, as of 2014, there are 24 categories of awards, plus several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of categories have changed over the years, some examples, the category Best Book of a Musical was originally called Best Author. The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards, for two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer and Best Costume Designer. It then went to a category, but in 2005 it was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a category was for directors of plays. A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson Award, was given for the first time at the ceremony in 2009. The award is for an individual who has made a contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian. The category of Best Special Theatrical Event was retired as of the 2009–2010 season, the categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014-2015 season. Performance categories Show and technical categories Special awards Retired awards The award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the American Theatre Wing headed by Brock Pemberton. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, nicknamed Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946. As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, At Jacob Wilks suggestion, proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting, at the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony

20.
Carousel (musical)
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Carousel is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnárs 1909 play Liliom, the story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their child, after it goes wrong. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow, the show includes the well-known songs If I Loved You, June Is Bustin Out All Over and Youll Never Walk Alone. Richard Rodgers later wrote that Carousel was his favorite of all his musicals, following the spectacular success of the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma. The pair sought to collaborate on another piece, knowing that any resulting work would be compared with Oklahoma, after acquiring the rights, the team created a work with lengthy sequences of music and made the ending more hopeful. The musical required considerable modification during out-of-town tryouts, but once it opened on Broadway on April 19,1945, Carousel initially ran for 890 performances and duplicated its success in the West End in 1950. Though it has never achieved as much success as Oklahoma. The piece has been revived, and has been recorded several times. A production by Nicholas Hytner enjoyed success in 1992 in London, in 1994 in New York, in 1999, Time magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th century. Ferenc Molnárs Hungarian-language drama, Liliom, premiered in Budapest in 1909, the audience was puzzled by the work, and it lasted only thirty-odd performances before being withdrawn, the first shadow on Molnárs successful career as a playwright. Liliom was not presented again until after World War I, when it reappeared on the Budapest stage, it was a tremendous hit. Except for the ending, the plots of Liliom and Carousel are very similar, andreas Zavocky, a carnival barker, falls in love with Julie Zeller, a servant girl, and they begin living together. With both discharged from their jobs, Liliom is discontented and contemplates leaving Julie, but decides not to do so on learning that she is pregnant. A subplot involves Julies friend Marie, who has fallen in love with Wolf Biefeld and he dies, and his spirit is taken to heavens police court. As Ficsur suggested while the two waited to commit the crime, would-be robbers like them do not come before God Himself. Liliom is told by the magistrate that he may go back to Earth for one day to attempt to redeem the wrongs he has done to his family, on his return to Earth, Liliom encounters his daughter, Louise, who like her mother is now a factory worker. Saying that he knew her father, he tries to give her a star he stole from the heavens, when Louise refuses to take it, he strikes her

21.
Tokyo Disneyland
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Tokyo Disneyland is a 115-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States, the park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company, Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not wholly or partly owned by the Walt Disney Company. The park has seven themed areas, the World Bazaar, the four classic Disney lands, Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, many of these areas mirror those in the original Disneyland as they are based on American Disney films and fantasies. Fantasyland includes Peter Pans Flight, Snow Whites Scary Adventures, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, based on classic Disney films, the park is noted for its extensive open spaces, to accommodate the large crowds that visit the park. In 2013, Tokyo Disneyland hosted 17.2 million visitors, to all of you who come to this happy place, welcome. Here you will discover enchanted lands of Fantasy and Adventure, Yesterday, may Tokyo Disneyland be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the people of the world. And may this magical kingdom be a symbol of the spirit of cooperation. The initial contract for the construction of Disneyland in Tokyo was signed in April 1979, Japanese engineers and architects visited California to tour Disneyland and prepare to construct the new park. The construction of the park began a year later and was covered by hundreds of reporters as an indication of the expectations for the park in the future. The final cost of Disneyland Tokyo was 180 billion yen rather than the projected 100 billion yen, despite this, Disneyland Tokyo has been a constant source of pride since opening day over 30 years ago. With a few exceptions, Tokyo Disneyland features the same found in Disneyland. World Bazaar is the entry corridor and primary shopping area of Tokyo Disneyland. World Bazaar has a permanent canopy covering the Main Street and Center Street areas, Adventureland consists of two distinct yet complementary areas, A New Orleans-themed area and a jungle-themed area. It is roughly a combination of the New Orleans Square and Adventureland areas found in Disneyland Park in the United States, Westernland is an old west themed area, the counterpart of Frontierland in other Magic Kingdom-style parks. Critter Country is an area of the park and is dominated by a single major attraction. Like other Magic Kingdom theme parks, Fantasylands central entryway is a castle, in this case Cinderella Castle, like its counterparts in other Disney theme parks, Toontown is heavily inspired by the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit

22.
Jonathan Larson
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Jonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for exploring the social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia in his work. Typical examples of his use of themes are found in his works, Rent. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the rock musical Rent, Larson was born to Jewish parents, Allan and Nanette Larson, in White Plains, New York. He was exposed to the arts, especially music and theatre, from an early age, as he played the trumpet, tuba, sang in his schools choir. Larson was also involved in acting in school, performing in lead roles in various productions at White Plains High School. Larson attended Adelphi University in Garden City, New York with a scholarship as an acting Academic major, in addition to performing in numerous plays. Burdick functioned as Larsons mentor during his college education, for about 10 years Larson worked as a waiter at the Moondance Diner during weekends, and worked on composing and writing musicals during the weekdays. At the diner Larson later met Jesse L. Martin, who was his waiting trainee, Larson and his roommates lived in harsh conditions with little money or property. Before composing and writing the musical Rent, his most popular work, Jonathan Larson wrote a variety of theatrical pieces, with varying degrees of success. Following Jonathan and Davids graduation in 1982, and retitled Saved, Superbia won the Richard Rodgers Production Award and the Richard Rodgers Development Grant. His next work, completed in 1991, was an autobiographical rock monologue entitled 30/90 and this piece, written for only Larson with a piano and rock band, was intended to be a response to his feelings of rejection caused by the disappointment of Superbia. The show was performed off-Broadway at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village, as well as at the Second Stage Theater, both of these productions were produced by Larsons friend, Victoria Leacock. The producer Jeffrey Seller saw a reading of Boho Days and expressed interest in producing Larsons musicals, after Larsons death, the work was reworked into a stage musical by playwright David Auburn and arranger and musical director Stephen Oremus. The stage version premiered off-Broadway in 2001, and has also been produced on the West End. The project was shelved due to scheduling conflicts among the five composers, the demo for Sacred Cows was released on iTunes. While in college, Larson came into contact with his strongest musical influence, Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim would often write letters of recommendation for Larson to various producers, Larson later won the Stephen Sondheim Award. In addition to his three larger theatrical pieces written before Rent, Larson also wrote music for J. P, for his early works Larson won a grant and award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and the Gilman and Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundations Commendation Award

23.
Pulitzer Prize
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The Pulitzer Prize /ˈpʊlᵻtsər/ is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of American Joseph Pulitzer who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher, Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of the categories, each receives a certificate. The winner in the service category of the journalism competition is awarded a gold medal. The Pulitzer Prize does not automatically consider all applicable works in the media, entries must fit in at least one of the specific prize categories, and cannot simply gain entrance for being literary or musical. Works can also only be entered in a maximum of two categories, regardless of their properties, each year,102 jurors are selected by the Pulitzer Prize Board to serve on 20 separate juries for the 21 award categories, one jury makes recommendations for both photography awards. For each award category, a jury makes three nominations, the board selects the winner by majority vote from the nominations or bypasses the nominations and selects a different entry following a 75% majority vote. The board can also vote to issue no award, the board and journalism jurors are not paid for their work, however, the jurors in letters, music, and drama receive a $2,000 honorarium for the year, and each chair receives $2,500. Anyone whose work has been submitted is called an entrant, the jury selects a group of nominated finalists and announces them, together with the winner for each category. However, some journalists who were submitted, but not nominated as finalists. For example, Bill Dedman of msnbc, Dedman wrote, To call that submission a Pulitzer nomination is like saying that Adam Sandler is an Oscar nominee if Columbia Pictures enters Thats My Boy in the Academy Awards. Many readers realize that the Oscars dont work that way—the studios dont pick the nominees and its just a way of slipping Academy Awards into a bio. The Pulitzers also dont work that way, but fewer people know that, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer gave money in his will to Columbia University to launch a journalism school and establish the Prize. It allocated $250,000 to the prize and scholarships and he specified four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one in education, and four traveling scholarships. After his death, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded June 4,1917, many people have won more than one Pulitzer Prize. Nelson Harding is the person to have won a Prize in two consecutive years, the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1927 and 1928. Four prizes Robert Frost, Poetry Eugene ONeill, Drama Robert E, in rare instances, contributors to the entry are singled out in the citation in a manner analogous to individual winners. Journalism awards may be awarded to individuals or newspapers or newspaper staffs, infrequently, Awards are made in categories relating to journalism, arts, letters and fiction

24.
Rent (musical)
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Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccinis opera La Bohème. The musical was first seen in a production at New York Theatre Workshop in 1993. This same Off-Broadway theatre was also the initial home following its official 1996 opening. The shows creator, Jonathan Larson, died suddenly of a dissection, believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome. The show won a Pulitzer Prize, and the production was a hit, the musical moved to Broadways larger Nederlander Theatre on April 29,1996. On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical among other awards, the Broadway production closed on September 7,2008 after a 12-year run of 5,123 performances. On February 14,2016, the musical Wicked surpassed Rents number of performances with a 2pm matinee, the production grossed over $280 million. The success of the led to several national tours and numerous foreign productions. In 2005, it was adapted into a picture featuring most of the original cast members. In 1989, Jonathan Larson, a 29-year-old composer, began collaborating with Aronson on this project, and he also came up with the shows ultimate title. In 1991, he asked Aronson if he could use Aronsons original concept, Larson had ambitious expectations for Rent, his ultimate dream was to write a rock opera to bring musical theater to the MTV generation. Aronson and Larson made an agreement that if the show went to Broadway, Aronson would share in the proceeds, Jonathan Larson focused on composing Rent in the early 1990s, waiting tables at the Moondance Diner to support himself. Over the course of years, Larson wrote hundreds of songs and made drastic changes to the show. In the fall of 1992, Larson approached James Nicola, artistic director of New York Theatre Workshop, with a tape, Larson continued to work on Rent, gradually reworking its flaws and staging more workshop productions. Larson would not live to see Rents success, he died from an aortic aneurysm in the early morning of January 25,1996. The first preview of Rent was canceled and instead, friends, the show premiered as planned and quickly gained popularity fueled by enthusiastic reviews and the recent death of its composer. It proved extremely successful during its run, selling out all its shows at the 150-seat New York Theater Workshop. Due to such overwhelming popularity and a need for a larger theater, Larsons inspiration for Rents content came from several different sources

25.
Andrew Lippa
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Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City, Lippa was born in Leeds, England. He emigrated to the US in October,1967 and grew up in Oak Park, Michigan and he attended Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan. While at the University of Michigan, Lippa studied vocal performance but eventually transferred into music education, after graduating from Michigan, Lippa moved to New York City in 1987 and became a middle school music teacher at Columbia Grammar and Prep School on the Upper West Side. He was promoted his second year at to dean of 7th and 8th grade students – an assistant principal position – and held that post, in addition to teaching music, in 1988 Lippa was accepted into the celebrated BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as a composer. There he met his future collaborator Tom Greenwald and he later pursued a career in musical composition. Lippa began his theatrical career at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam. He was hired in early 1992 to be the pianist for a production of Its a Bird and its Superman but quickly rose to become the dance arranger and assistant music director. He then stayed on for the remainder of the season in that capacity, following the Goodspeed, Lippa worked at various theatres as music director and/or pianist in addition to being an increasingly in-demand arranger. The Goodspeed produced Lippa’s first musical, John & Jen in 1993 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, what followed that production was a workshop production the following year at the Berkshire Theatre Festival and, ultimately, a nearly 6-month run at Lambs Theatre in New York City. The show was produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Lippa then went on to write the book, music and lyrics for The Wild Party. He began work in 1996, and the Manhattan Theatre Club presented a reading of the first act later that year, julia Murney, who later played the role of Queenie, was in the ensemble of that reading. The Wild Party had a development at The Eugene ONeill Theater Center in Connecticut in the summer of 1997. Following that period, producers Jeffrey Seller and Kevin McCollum optioned the play and, with the Manhattan Theater Club, the Wild Party was given its world premiere in 2000 at the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical of the season, the show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including best new musical. In 1999, Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the other two songs were “Beethoven Day” and the new version of the title song. Lippa also produced the original cast recording and was honored with a Grammy nomination for his work on that recording, in 2001, Lippa joined with Brian Crawley to create A Little Princess as a musical. That show later premiered in the summer of 2004 at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, the recording was released on September 13,2011 on Ghostlight Records

26.
The Wild Party (Lippa musical)
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The Wild Party is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Andrew Lippa. Based on Joseph Moncure Marchs 1928 narrative poem of the name, it coincidentally made its debut during the same theatre season as a Broadway production with the same name. Both Queenie and Burrs have now met their emotional and sexual match, for a while, they live together happily sated. Burrs violent nature, which once thrilled Queenie, now scares her, still, she longs to generate the same excitement that brought them together. Although Queenie radiates beauty and confidence, Burrs preys on other women and he makes his move on their youngest guest, Nadine. Despite her casual reprimand of his behavior, Queenie wants to hurt Burrs in return, the vivacious Kate arrives with her new friend, Mr. Black. Queenie, quite taken by Black, plans to make her move on him, Kate drags him away to meet the other guests. The partys revelry continues, Burrs hits on Kate, Madeline hits on Nadine, Eddie chugs beer, during the chaos, Black finds himself equally as taken by Queenie as she with him - much to the chagrin of Kate. As revenge, Kate plans on seducing Burrs, meanwhile, in a corner of the room, Madeline is in a drunken stupor and on the prowl for a woman with very little success. Although Queenie is fully aware that Burrs will threaten her physically, she makes her move on Mr. Black, Burrs watches them, his ire rising. Unsuccessfully, Kate tries to get Burrs to dance – then in order to defuse the situation, Kate takes Queenie out of Mr. Black’s arms, Burrs violent reaction against Mr. Black and Queenie is prohibited by the whole company dancing the Juggernaut. At its end, Mr. Black and Queenie are together again, to get the reaction he wants from Queenie, Burrs grabs Nadine, the minor, and makes out with her. This enrages Kate who throws Nadine to the ground by her hair, Burrs cuts into Mr. Black and Queenie’s dancing. Managing to have her to himself, Burrs tells Queenie to stay away from Mr. Black, laughing at him, Queenie says she will do whatever she chooses. They are interrupted by Oscar and Phil at the piano, Burrs releases Queenie, seeing that too many people are watching. Burrs and Queenie join Oscar and Phils epic musical number based on the story of Adams and Eve – Burrs plays Adam and Queenie and their number is interrupted by a discontented neighbor. Eddie and Mae yell insults to the man and the crowd goes wild, suddenly, Mr. Black approaches Queenie and pointedly asks why she stays with an abusive brute. She reflects on her situation and comes to the conclusion that, perhaps, elsewhere, Kate is attempting to seduce Burrs

27.
Manhattan Theatre Club
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Manhattan Theatre Club is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. MTCs many awards include 19 Tony Awards, six Pulitzer Prizes,48 Obie Awards and 32 Drama Desk Awards, as well as numerous Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. MTC has won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement, a Drama Desk for Outstanding Excellence, MTC produces plays and musicals on and off-Broadway. After renovations, it re-opened in October 2003, with 650 seats the Friedman has about two-thirds of the capacity of the old Biltmore Theatre, although it now boasts modern conveniences such as elevators and meeting rooms. The theatre was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4,2008 in honor of Broadway publicist Samuel Friedman, New York City Center, Stage I & Stage II In 1984, the Manhattan Theatre Club moved to New York City Centers lower level. The Manhattan Theatre Club performance space comprises a 299-seat theatre with fixed seating and a 150-seat studio theatre with variable seating configurations

28.
Chicago (musical)
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Chicago is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, the original Broadway production opened in 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 936 performances until 1977. Bob Fosse choreographed the production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. Following a West End debut in 1979 which ran for 600 performances, Chicago was revived on Broadway in 1996, the Broadway revival holds the record as the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. It is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, behind only The Phantom of the Opera, having played its 7, 486th performance on November 23,2014, surpassing Cats. The West End revival ran for nearly 15 years, becoming the longest-running American musical in West End history, the 2002 film version of the musical won the Academy Award for Best Picture. In the early 1920s, Chicagos press and public became riveted by the subject of homicides committed by women, several high-profile cases arose, which generally involved women killing their lovers or husbands. These cases were tried against a backdrop of changing views of women in the Jazz age, a lore arose that, in Chicago, feminine or attractive women could not be convicted. The Chicago Tribune generally took a pro-prosecution hang-them-high stance, while presenting the details of these womens lives. Regardless of stance, the press covered several of these women as celebrities, Annan, the model for the character of Roxie Hart, was 23 when she was accused of the April 3,1924, murder of Harry Kalstedt. The Tribune reported that Annan played the foxtrot record Hula Lou over and over for two hours before calling her husband to say she killed a man who tried to love to her. She was found not guilty on May 25,1924, Velma Kelly is based on Gaertner, who was a cabaret singer, and society divorcée. The body of Walter Law was discovered slumped over the wheel of Gaertners abandoned car on March 12,1924. Two police officers testified that they had seen a woman getting into the car, a bottle of gin and an automatic pistol were found on the floor of the car. Gaertner was acquitted on June 6,1924, lawyers William Scott Stewart and W. W. OBrien were models for a composite character in Chicago, Billy Flynn. Watkins sensational columns documenting these trials proved so popular that she decided to write a play based on them, the show received both popular and critical acclaim and even made it to Broadway in 1926, running for 172 performances. DeMille produced a silent film version, Chicago, starring former Mack Sennett bathing beauty Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart and it was later remade as Roxie Hart starring Ginger Rogers, but, in this version, Roxie was accused of murder without having really committed it

29.
Norbert Leo Butz
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Norbert Leo Butz is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in Broadway theatre. He is a winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and he was raised in a middle-class family, his parents are devout Catholics. He is the seventh of 11 children in his family and is named after his father, some of his first theatre roles included playing the male leads at local all-girl high schools, such as Cor Jesu Academy and Nerinx Hall. He graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School, the murder of his sister, Teresa Butz, made national news when an assailant stabbed both her and her partner in her Seattle-area home on July 19,2009. Butzs daughter, Georgia Teresa, was born on January 2,2011, Butz has two additional daughters, Clara and Maggie Davis, from a previous marriage. Butz made his Broadway debut as a replacement swing – a type of understudy – in Rent in 1996, Butz ultimately replaced Adam Pascal as Roger in 1997. His Off-Broadway credits include The Last Five Years, Songs for a New World, Saved, and Juno and the Paycock, butzs film roles have included Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God. Be Back by Five, Noon Blue Apples, and West of Here, butzs projects include the film Dan in Real Life, released in October 2007, the world premiere of Is He Dead. A hitherto unproduced Mark Twain play that opened at Broadways Lyceum Theatre on December 9,2007, in January 2008, he appeared as Captain Richard King in the miniseries adaptation of the Lonesome Dove prequel, Comanche Moon. Butz took over the part until January 13,2009, when William H. Macy assumed the role for the remainder of the plays run, Butz taught at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey for the spring semester in 2008 in the drama department. He starred as Rowdy Kaiser in the ABC show The Deep End, from April to May 9,2010, he returned to the Broadway stage in ENRON as Jeffrey Skilling. Despite Tony nominations, the play struggled with ticket sales, Butz starred in the 2011 drama indie film Higher Ground with Vera Farmiga, who also directed it. Butz originated the role of Carl Hanratty in the musical Catch Me If You Can which played pre-Broadway tryouts at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington from July 28 through August 14,2009. Butz played the role of Carl Hanratty in the Broadway production of Catch Me if You Can, for this role he won his second Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In April 2012, Butz appeared as himself in one episode of the NBC musical drama Smash, Butz played Hal Wilner in Greetings from Tim Buckley, a film on Tim and Jeff Buckley, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. From November 29,2012 to January 6,2013, Butz appeared on Broadway in Theresa Rebecks Dead Accounts, opposite Katie Holmes, Jayne Houdyshell, Josh Hamilton, and Judy Greer. In 2013 he starred in the new Andrew Lippa musical Big Fish, in 2012, he played Uncle Peck in a limited engagement revival of Paula Vogels play How I Learned to Drive

30.
Wicked (musical)
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Wicked, The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. Produced by Universal Stage Productions in coalition with Marc Platt, Jon B and its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, while its original cast album received a Grammy Award, Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on October 30,2013. On December 4,2016, Wicked performed its 5, 462nd performance with a 2,00 p. m. matinee, making Wicked the 9th longest-running Broadway show, passing Beauty, a typical performance runs for approximately two hours and 30 minutes, plus a 15-minute intermission. Since its 2003 debut, Wicked has broken box office records around the world, currently holding weekly-gross-takings records in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London. In the week ending January 2,2011, the London, Broadway, in the final week of 2013, the Broadway production broke this record again, earning $3.2 million. The West End production and the North American tour have each been seen by two million patrons. Maguire, however, had released the rights to Universal Pictures, persuaded, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with Universal and David Stone. The novel, described as a political, social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil, takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothys arrival. It is designed to set the reader thinking about what it really is to be Wicked, Schwartz considered how best to condense the novels dense and complicated plot into a sensible script. While the draft followed Maguires idea of retelling the story of the 1939 film from the perspective of its main villain, the book, lyrics and score for the musical were developed through a series of readings. For these developmental workshops, Kristin Chenoweth, the Tony Award–winning actress whom Stephen Schwartz had in mind while composing the music for the character, stephanie J. Block played Elphaba in all of the workshops, before fellow performer Idina Menzel was cast in the role in late 2000. In early 2000, the creators recruited New York producer David Stone, by April 2003, a full cast had been assembled and the show readied its debut. On May 28,2003, the first performance of Wicked was held at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, after officially opening on June 10,2003, it ran there for the month and finished on June 29,2003. Audience reaction was positive and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the state of its book, score. Noting mixed response, the team started making extensive changes. Winnie Holzman stated, Stephen wisely had insisted on having three months to rewrite in-between the time we closed in San Francisco and when we were to go back into rehearsals in New York. That was crucial, that was the thing that made the biggest difference in the life of the show and that time is what made the show work

31.
Guiding Light
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Guiding Light was created by Irna Phillips, and began as an NBC Radio serial on January 25,1937. On June 2,1947, the series was transferred to CBS Radio, before starting on June 30,1952 and it continued to be broadcast concomitantly on radio until June 29,1956. The series was expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour during 1968, the series broadcast its 15, 000th CBS episode on September 6,2006. On April 1,2009, it was announced that CBS had canceled Guiding Light after a 72-year run due to low ratings. The show taped its final Procter & Gamble scenes for CBS on August 11,2009, on October 5,2009, CBS replaced Guiding Light with an hour-long revival of Lets Make a Deal, hosted by Wayne Brady. Guiding Light has had a number of plot sequences during the long history. These plot sequences include complex storylines, and different writers and casting, the series was created by Irna Phillips, who based it on personal experiences. These sermons originated the idea of the creation of The Guiding Light, the original radio series was first broadcast as 15-minute episodes on NBC Radio, starting on January 25,1937. The series was transferred to CBS Radio during 1947, the Guiding Light was broadcast first by CBS Television on June 30,1952. With the transition to television, the characters became the Bauers. These episodes were also 15 minutes long, during the period from 1952 to 1956, The Guiding Light existed as both a radio and television serial, with actors recording their performances twice for each day that the shows were broadcast. The radio broadcast of The Guiding Light ceased production during 1956, the Guiding Light ranked as the number one-rated soap opera during both 1956 and 1957, before being replaced during 1958 by As the World Turns. After Irna Phillips was transferred to As the World Turns during 1958, the first television producer of The Guiding Light was Luci Ferri Rittenberg, who produced the show over 20 years. Agnes Nixon relinquished her role as chief writer during 1965 to work for the series Another World, on March 13,1967, The Guiding Light was first broadcast in color. On September 9,1968, the program was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes, the show also became a bit more topical during the 1960s, with such storylines as Bert Bauers diagnosis of uterine cancer in 1962. A number of new characters were introduced during the mid- to late 1960s, including Dr. Sara McIntyre, who remained a major character through the early 1980s. Charlotte was murdered by Kit on August 26,1973, and then Kit herself was shot by Dr. Joe Werner in self-defense on April 24,1974, after she had attempted to poison Dr. Sara McIntyre. A pivotal character, off-and-on, until the spring of 1998, the role of Roger was originally proposed to be blonde, fair-skinned preppy type, a man who was dating his bosss daughter Holly

32.
Tantra
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Tantra is the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of 1st millennium CE. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable text, theory, system, method, instrument, in Hinduism, the tantra tradition is most often associated with its goddess tradition called Shaktism, followed by Shaivism and Vaishnavism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana tradition is known for its extensive tantra ideas, Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have influenced other religious traditions such as Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, and the Japanese Shintō tradition. Tantra as genre of literature in Hinduism have been influential to its arts, icons, Hindu puja, temples and iconography are tantric in nature. The Hindu texts that describe these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās, in Buddhism, its tantra-genre literature has influenced the artworks in Tibet, historic cave temples of India, and imagery in southeast Asia. Tantra literally means loom, warp, weave, the connotation of the word tantra to mean an esoteric practice or religious ritualism is a colonial era European invention. The term is based on the metaphor of weaving, states Ron Barrett and it implies interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads into a text, technique or practice. The word appears in the hymns of the Rigveda such as in 10.71 and it is found in many other Vedic era texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the Atharvaveda and many Brahmanas. In these and post-Vedic texts, the meaning of Tantra is that which is principal or essential part, main point, model, framework. The term “Tantra” after about 500 BCE, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism is a bibliographic category, the same Buddhist texts are sometimes referred to as tantra or sutra, for example, Vairocabhisambodhi-tantra is also referred to as Vairocabhisambodhi-sutra. The various contextual meaning of the word Tantra varies with the Indian text, the earliest definitions and expositions on Tantra come from the ancient texts of Panini, Patanjali and the literature of the language-focussed, ritual-oriented Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy. The word tantra, states Patanjali, means principal, main, Patanjali also offers a semantic definition of Tantra, stating that it is structural rules, standard procedures, centralized guide or knowledge in any field that applies to many elements. The ancient Mimamsa school of Hinduism uses the term tantra extensively, for example, When an action or a thing, once complete, becomes beneficial in several matters to one person, or to many people, that is known as Tantra. For example, a lamp placed amidst many priests, in contrast, that which benefits by its repetition is called Āvāpa, such as massaging with oil. Medieval texts present their own definitions of Tantra, in modern era scholarship, Tantra has been studied as an esoteric practice and ritualistic religion, sometimes referred to as Tantrism. There is wide gap between what Tantra means to its followers, and what Tantra has been represented or perceived as since colonial era writers began commenting on Tantra, many definitions of Tantra have been proposed ever since, and there is no universally accepted definition of Tantra. André Padoux in his review of Tantra definitions offers two, then rejects both, another definition, more common among observers and non-practitioners, is some set of mechanistic rituals, omitting entirely the ideological side. According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of Tantra exist, a definition and a broad definition

33.
Doug Liman
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Douglas Eric Doug Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game, and Edge of Tomorrow. He has two siblings, Emily and Lewis, Liman began making short films while still in junior high school and studied at International Center of Photography in New York City. While attending Brown University, he helped to co-found the student-run cable television station BTV, Liman attended the graduate program at University of Southern California, where he was tapped to helm his first project in 1993, the comedy thriller Getting In/Student Body. Liman became attached to direct Swingers when its screenwriter Jon Favreau turned down offers from studios who wanted to cast established actors, the director agreed to cast Favreau and his friends in this comedy about struggling actors amid the L. A. club milieu. The result was a $250,000 dialogue-propelled film that became a sleeper hit, in addition to establishing a cult following, it jump-started the careers of the featured actors. Liman sold the film to Miramax for $5.5 million, shortly after the sale and they rekindled their friendship years later. Limans next effort, Go, tracked the events of one night through three different points of view as plot lines diverged and reconverged, Liman was also the films cinematographer. The film made a profit at the box office grossing $28.4 million worldwide against a $6.5 million budget. In 1999, Liman shot a commercial for Nike in which Tiger Woods, without letting the ball touch the ground, repeatedly bounced a ball on his club and then drove it into the distance. Liman enjoyed further success when he directed the action thriller The Bourne Identity. The film that Liman delivered lacked sufficient action sequences to satisfy test groups of young males, Liman remained with the Bourne franchise through three of its next four installments, but served instead as an executive producer while Paul Greengrass took over directing duties. Building on his success, Liman executive produced and directed the episode as well as the second episode of the successful Fox prime time drama The O. C. Liman produced and directed a series of shorts for the Chrysler Film Project. Liman also directed Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a thriller about an increasingly distant married couple. The film, his most commercially successful to date, is well known for the off-screen romance that developed between stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie after making the film. In 2005, Liman signed on to direct the episode of NBCs television series Heist. His film adaptation of Steven Goulds science fiction novel Jumper was released in 2008, in 2009, he co-founded the website 30ninjas. com which is geared towards fans of action movies and television, gaming, extreme sports and viral videos. He also maintains a blog on the site and he directed 2010s Fair Game, about the Plame affair, which competed for the Palme dOr at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival

34.
Go (1999)
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Go is a 1999 American crime comedy film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with intertwining plots involving three sets of characters. Around Christmas in Los Angeles, Ronna Martin, working overtime at her job to avoid being evicted, is approached at work by Adam and Zack. They were hoping to buy from her co-worker, Simon Baines, before she can give Adam and Zack the drugs, Ronna grows suspicious of Burke, a stranger with the two who presses her for the ecstasy. In a panic, she flushes the drugs down the toilet, Ronna then steals aspirin to replace the ecstasy she disposed of, helped by her friend and another co-worker, Manny, who swallowed two of the pills without knowing their strength. Todd soon discovers that the pills are fake and pursues Ronna, Ronna flees with Manny, but he is overcome by the drugs. Ronna leaves him in an alley and promises to return with her car, before he can shoot Ronna, she is hit by a car that speeds away. The story restarts from the perspective of Simon, who is on a trip to Las Vegas with his three best friends, Marcus, Tiny, and Singh, Tiny and Singh soon get food poisoning, leaving Simon and Marcus to their own devices. Simon crashes a wedding and has sex with two of the bridesmaids before their hotel room accidentally catches fire, Simon and Marcus leave the hotel, stealing a car from someone who thinks Marcus is a parking attendant. The pair goes to a club, where Simon orders a private lap dance for them using Todds loaned credit card. Simon shoots Victor Jr. with a gun that he found in the stolen car, the four barely escape the bouncer and his father, Victor Sr. but Victor Sr. traces Todds address from the credit card Simon left at the strip club. The story then changes perspective to Adam and Zack, actors in a soap opera who are secretly gay and in a relationship. Having been busted for possession, they are forced to work with Burke. When they cannot find their usual dealer, Simon, the two convince Ronna to come up with the drugs, when Ronna arrives later to make the deal, Zack secretly warns her away, leading her to dispose of the drugs in the bathroom. After the unsuccessful bust, Burke invites Adam and Zack to Christmas dinner, Adam and Zack observe strange behavior from Burke and his wife, Irene, Burke espousing the quality of his bed to Zack while naked and Irene coming onto Adam. Burke and Irene finally pitch an Amway-type company to Adam and Zack over dinner, idly discussing their now-confirmed infidelity with each other, Adam and Zack realize they both cheated with the same person, Jimmy. They discover he is at a rave and confront him there, while leaving the rave, they accidentally run over Ronna in the parking lot, panicking and driving away when they see Todd with a gun. Zack tries to reassure Adam that, even if Ronna had survived being run over, Adam then discovers to his horror that he is still wearing his wire. Fearing they have recorded and will be discovered, the two return to the accident scene to remove Ronnas body, but discover she is still alive

35.
AWOL
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In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a duty or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning. In contrast, unauthorized absence or absence without leave refers to a temporary absence, the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard generally refer to this as unauthorized absence or UA. Personnel are dropped from their unit rolls after thirty days and then listed as deserters, however, people who are away for more than thirty days but return voluntarily or indicate a credible intent to return may still be considered AWOL. Those who are away for fewer than thirty days but can credibly be shown to have no intent to return may nevertheless be tried for desertion, in rare occasions, they may be tried for treason if enough evidence is found. Missing movement is another term used to describe members of the armed forces fail to arrive at the appointed time to deploy with their assigned unit, ship. In the United States Armed Forces, this is a violation of the Article 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the offense is similar to absence without leave but may draw more severe punishment. Failure to repair consists of missing a formation or failing to appear at an assigned place and it is a lesser offense within article 86 of the UCMJ. In 2011, Vienna decided to honour Austrian Wehrmacht deserters, in 2014, on October, 24th a Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice was inaugurated on Viennas Ballhausplatz by Austrias President Heinz Fischer. The monument was created by German artist Olaf Nicolai and is located opposite the Presidents office, the inscription on top of the three step sculpture features a poem by Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay with just two words, all alone. During WWI approximately 600 French soldiers were executed for desertion, during WWI, only 18 Germans who deserted in the First World War were executed. In contrast of the Germans who deserted the Wehrmacht,15,000 men were executed, in June 1988 the Initiative for the Creation of a Memorial to Deserters came to life in Ulm. A central idea was, Desertion is not reprehensible, war is, during WWI a total of 28 New Zealand soldiers were sentenced to death for desertion, of these, five were executed. These soldiers were pardoned in 2000 through the Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act. Those who deserted before reaching the front were imprisoned in what were claimed to be harsh conditions, the execution of soldiers for desertion is controversial, particularly considering the age of some of the soldiers and the potential of shell-shock. 270, dated August 16,1941, was issued by Joseph Stalin, the order required superiors to shoot deserters on the spot. Their family members were subjected to arrest,227, dated July 28,1942, directed that each Army must create blocking detachments which would shoot cowards and fleeing panicked troops at the rear. During World War II, the Soviets executed 158,000 soldiers for desertion, analyses of desertion rates argue that motivations were far less ideological than individual accounts claim. Desertion rates increased prior to announcements of upcoming operations, and were highest during the summer and winter, seasonal desertions were probably a response to the harsh weather conditions of the winter and immense field work required in the summer

36.
Bridegroom
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A bridegroom is a man who will soon be or has recently been married. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and groomsmen, in the United States, the bridegroom usually wears a dark-colored suit for a daytime wedding or tuxedo for an evening ceremony. British tradition for a formal wedding requires the bridegroom, male ushers, bridegrooms of Scottish descent often wear full Highland dress, as do their groomsmen. His speech will normally be followed by one from the best man, the first mention of the term bridegroom dates to 1604, from the Old English brȳdguma, a compound of brȳd and guma. It is related to the Old Saxon brūdigomo, the Old High German brūtigomo, the German Bräutigam, in Christianity, Jesus Christ is called a bridegroom in relation to the Church as his bride. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist speaks of Jesus Christ as the bridegroom and mentions the bride. That is the place in the Gospels that the bride is mentioned

37.
The Wood
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The Wood is a 1999 American coming of age film written by Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd and directed by Rick Famuyiwa. The film stars Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs, Roland is getting married and Slim, who scoffs at the idea of marriage, is furious at Roland for disappearing. Shy and awkward, Mike sticks out like a thumb on his first day. On a dare from Slim and Roland, Mike runs and grabs Alicias butt, leading to a big fight with her big brother Stacey, while he is thoroughly beat down, Mike earns Staceys private respect for fighting back like a man. Meanwhile in present day, Mike and Slim go to find Roland for his wedding, when they get a call from Tanya saying that she has him with her and that he is very drunk. They go to her house to him up to take him back to the wedding to marry his bride Lisa because they only have two hours before the ceremony begins. Back to their old times, on their way to their first dance of the year they go to a store that gets held up by Stacey. The boys almost get arrested by two cops due to Staceys broken taillight, Mikes quick thinking prevents one of the cops from finding Staceys gun and they are let go not realizing that the hold-up Stacey and Boo did is what gotten them off the hook. When they get back to the dance it is almost over and Mike gets to dance with Alicia, Mike and Alicia started dating for three weeks in junior high and then stayed friends. In the present day while reminiscing, Roland gets sick and throws up all over Slim, now they only have an hour left before the wedding and they have to get cleaned up so they take their clothes to the cleaners. Mike, returning to their memories when they were juniors in high school remembers them thinking about sex, ways to get it, Mike has a girlfriend and Alicia has a boyfriend. Despite both of them already in a relationship with somebody else, one day Mike and Alicia walk to her house from the library talking about the Homecoming Dance and they hear the first song they danced to remember their first kiss. They begin to have sex but stop because Mikes condom breaks, Alicia tells Mike that Stacey should have a condom in his room. Mike finds a condom in Staceys room and has to hide under his bed so as not to get caught when Stacey, after they leave, Mike goes back to Alicias room and they finally make love. Mike wins the bet but he doesnt tell Roland and Slim out of respect for Alicia, Mike, now hiding his still present shyness with a veil of over confidence, reconnects romantically with Alicia. Its revealed in the present that after school, Alicia. The boys finally make it to the wedding and Roland apologizes to a furious Lisa for leaving her worried, before the ceremony begins, Mike sees Alicia. Mike tells his last childhood memory, and its when they go to a dance for their school

38.
House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
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House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American horror film, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Jeffrey Combs. It also includes an appearance by Peter Graves. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the night. House on Haunted Hill marked the debut of Dark Castle Entertainment. House on Haunted Hill premiered on Halloween weekend in 1999, the film received middling reviews from major critics, but was a commercial success, opening number one at the box office and grossing over $40 million domestically. In 2007, the film was followed by a sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill. In 1931 the mental patients at the Vannacutt Institute for the Criminally Insane revolt against the staff headed by the sadistic Dr. Richard Vannacutt, the patients start a fire which engulfs the building, killing all of the inmates and all but five of the staff. In 1999, Evelyn Stockard-Price, a trophy wife, is in a disintegrating marriage with Steven Price. At Evelyns insistence, Price leases the house from the owner, Watson Pritchett, Evelyn gives Price a lengthy guest list, he shreds it to spite her and then creates one of his own. Five guests arrive for the party - Jennifer Jenzen, Eddie Baker, Melissa Margaret Marr, Dr. Donald Blackburn, the guests are not the ones Price invited and neither Evelyn nor Price know who they are. Despite this, Price continues the theme, offering $1 million to each guest who stays in the house. Those who die forfeit their $1 million to the survivors, the security gates are tripped, locking everyone inside. After finding some hand guns, Jennifer, Eddie and Pritchett decide to take one of the guns, Price believes the trap is a stunt organized by Evelyn. As Eddie and Jennifer explore the basement, Jennifer confesses to Eddie that her real name is Sara Wolfe. She attended the party in Jennifers place because she needed the prize money, however, the two are separated, and Sara is nearly drowned in a tank of blood by a ghost impersonating Eddie, though the real Eddie arrives in time to save her. Melissa disappears when she wanders off in the basement, leaving behind a trail of blood. Price visits his assistant Schechter, who is supposed to be managing the party stunts, on the surveillance monitor he sees the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt walking around with a bloody scalpel. Shortly after, Evelyn dies in front of the others, when they find she has been strapped to an electroshock therapy table, furious, Price pulls a gun on the guests, demanding to know which one of them killed his wife

39.
William Castle
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William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attention of Columbia Pictures for his talent for promotion and he learned the trade of filmmaking and became a director, acquiring a reputation for the ability to churn out competent B-movies quickly and on budget. He eventually struck out on his own, producing and directing thrillers which, despite their low budgets, were promoted with gimmicks. He was also the producer for Rosemarys Baby, Castle was born William Schloss, Jr. in New York City, the son of Saidie and William Schloss. His mother died when he was nine, when his father followed a year later, he was left an orphan at the age of 11. He then lived with his older sister, Castle married Ellen Falck, with whom he had two children. At 13, he went to see the play Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and he watched performance after performance, eventually managing to meet Lugosi himself. He wrote in his autobiography Step Right Up, im Gonna Scare the Pants off America, I knew then what I wanted to do with my life – I wanted to scare the pants off audiences. Lugosi recommended him for the position of assistant stage manager for the company tour of the play. The 15-year-old dropped out of school to take the job. He spent his years working on Broadway in jobs ranging from set building to acting. This proved good training for the future filmmaker and he obtained Orson Welles telephone number and persuaded Welles to lease him the Stony Creek Theatre in Connecticut. When Nazi Germany sent Schwanneke an invitation to a Munich performance and he released to the newspapers what he claimed was a telegram he had sent turning down the request, portraying his star as the girl who said no to Hitler. To add to the sensationalism, he vandalized the theatre. The resulting publicity ensured the success of the play and he left for Hollywood at 23, to work for Harry Cohn at Columbia Pictures. In the 2007 documentary Spine Tingler, the William Castle Story, his daughter states he had a dynamic, outgoing personality that attracted others. He was one of the few people Cohn liked and he learned the film business, and graduated to directing inexpensive B-movies, the first being the appropriately named The Chance of a Lifetime, released in 1943

40.
House on Haunted Hill
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House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film directed by William Castle. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000, as the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. Pritchard disapproves of Lorens use of the house for his party, arriving late at night in separate funeral cars with a hearse leading the procession, Lorens guests are told the rules of the party, and each is given a.38 ACP caliber pistol for protection. Forced to attend the party, Lorens wife tries to warn the guests that her husband is psychotic, Nora becomes convinced that hes trying to kill her when she keeps seeing frightening ghosts, including the ghost of Annabelle, who had apparently hanged herself some time during the night. Almost as frightened as Nora is Watson Pritchard and he is convinced that the house is genuinely haunted by the ghosts of those killed there in the past, including his own brother, and that those ghosts have the power to come for anyone in the house. Schroeder is attacked in a basement room, but is convinced his attacker was real, and tries to calm Noras fears. It is eventually revealed that Annabelle, in league with her lover, Dr. Trent, after she flees the room, Dr. Hearing the gunshot, Annabelle rushes down to the basement to confirm that her husband is dead, but finds the room empty. Suddenly, a skeleton rises from the acid accompanied by Lorens disembodied voice, as the animated specter approaches, Annabelle recoils and screams in horror, accidentally falling into the acid herself. The real Loren then emerges from the shadows, holding the contraption that he used to manipulate the skeleton which is now revealed to be Dr. Trents. Triumphant, he states that when Annabelle and Trent were starting their game of murder. He then tosses Trents skeleton in the vat to dissolve in the acid, Nora tells the other guests that she has shot Loren in the basement, but when they all arrive there they find him alive. Watson Pritchard, still an avid believer in the supernatural, looks into the acid and declares that Annabelle and Dr. Trent have now joined the ranks of the houses many ghosts. With a terrified expression on his face, he announces that the ghosts are now coming for him, then, he turns toward the audience and adds, And then theyll come for you. The poster for the film included an illustration of a house in yet a third style, the theatrical trailer promoted the film as The House on Haunted Hill, although all advertising material and the title on the film itself were simply titled House on Haunted Hill. The film is perhaps best known for a promotional gimmick used in the films original theatrical release called Emergo. In some theaters that showed the film, William Castle placed an elaborate pulley system in the theater itself, in August and September 2010, the Film Forum in New York City had a revival of the film that included the original gimmicks. This was the first time since the late 1980s Film Forum had done this, thanks in part to Castles gimmickry, the film was a huge success. Alfred Hitchcock took notice of the films performance at the box office, and set out to make his own low-budget horror film

41.
America's Next Top Model
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Created and executive produced by Tyra Banks, the series premiered in May 2003, and was aired semiannually until 2012, then annually from 2013. The first six seasons were aired on UPN, before UPN merged The WB to create The CW in 2006, the following sixteen cycles were aired on The CW until the series was first cancelled in October 2015. The series has since been revived, with cycle 23 currently airing on VH1, the series was among the highest-rated programs on UPN, and was the highest-rated show on The CW from 2007 to 2010. Advertisers paid $61,315 per 30-second slot during the 2011–12 television seasons, the first twenty-two cycles of the series were presented by Banks, with cycle 23 being presented by Rita Ora. The series employs a panel of three or four judges, the original panel consisted of Banks, Janice Dickinson, Beau Quillian and Kimora Lee Simmons. Quillian and Simmons were replaced by Nigel Barker and Eric Nicholson in cycle 2, after cycle 4, Marin and Dickinson were replaced by J. Alexander and Twiggy in cycle 5. Paulina Porizkova joined the panel in cycle 10, in place of Twiggy, after cycle 12, Porizkova was fired by Banks and the panel was left with three judges in cycle 13. In cycle 14, Alexander left the panel and was replaced by André Leon Talley, in cycle 18, Kelly Cutrone replaced Talley. After cycle 18, Banks fired long-standing cast members Barker, Alexander, Barker was replaced by Rob Evans in cycle 19, and Manuel by Johnny Wujek. Alexander returned to the panel in cycle 21 in place of Evans, before the panel was replaced with Ora, Ashley Graham, Drew Elliott. Ora will be replaced as presenter and judge by the returning Banks for the upcoming cycle 24, cycles 1–16 and cycle 19 each consisted of a cast of between 10 and 14 female contestants with no previous participation on the series. Cycles 20–22 featured male contestants in the contest, including two eventual winners, cycle 23 follows the series original format of an all-new, all-female cast. Winners typically receive a feature in a magazine and a contract with a modeling agency among other prizes, the series is the originator of the international Top Model franchise. Over 30 versions of the series have been produced internationally and it was announced on January 24,2006, that Top Model would be part of the new The CW network, a merge between UPN and The WB, when the seventh cycle started in September airing on Wednesdays. The series became the first series among regular programming to air on the network, prior to the announcement of merging with The WB, UPN had committed to renewing the series through its ninth cycle on January 20,2006, for which casting was conducted throughout mid-2006. Americas Next Top Model is the show left on the network that was originally from UPN. On July 21,2006, the writers of Americas Next Top Model went on strike while working on cycle 7, the writers sought representation through the Writers Guild of America, West, which would allow them regulated wages, access to portable health insurance, and pension benefits. These benefits would be similar to those given to writers on scripted shows, the strike was the focus of a large rally of Hollywood writers coinciding with the premiere of the new network on September 20,2006

42.
Ally McBeal
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Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama television series, originally aired on Fox from September 8,1997 to May 20,2002. The series, set in the fictional Boston law firm Cage and Fish, on her first day Ally is horrified to find that she will be working alongside her ex-boyfriend Billy Thomas —whom she has never gotten over. To make things worse, Billy is now married to fellow lawyer Georgia, the triangle among the three forms the basis for the main plot for the shows first three seasons. For example, bitter divorce litigation of a client might provide a backdrop for Allys decision to break up with a boyfriend, legal arguments were also frequently used to explore multiple sides of various social issues. Cage & Fish, the law firm where most of the characters work, is depicted as a highly sexualized environment symbolized by its unisex restroom. The show used vivid, dramatic fantasy sequences for Allys and other characters wishful thinking, the series also featured regular visits to a local bar where singer Vonda Shepard regularly performed. Notes In Australia, Ally McBeal was aired by the Seven Network from 1997 to 2002, in 2010, it was aired repeatedly by Network Ten. Seymore Walsh, a stern judge often exasperated by the eccentricities of the Cage & Fish lawyers, whats unusual about this continuing storyline is that Ally McBeal and The Practice aired on different networks. Bobby Donnell, the character of The Practice played by Dylan McDermott, was featured heavily in both this crossover and another Ally McBeal episode, These are the Days. Regular Practice cast members Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Badalucco each had a cameo in Ally McBeal, upon premiering in 1997, the show was an instant hit, averaging around 11 million viewers per episode. The shows second season saw an increase in ratings and soon became a top 20 show, however, Downeys character was written out after the end of the season due to the actors troubles with drug addiction. The first two seasons, as well as the fourth, remain the most critically acclaimed and saw the most awards success at the Emmys, SAG Awards, in 2007 Ally McBeal placed #48 on Entertainment Weeklys 2007 New TV Classics list. Ally McBeal was a heavily music-oriented show, Vonda Shepard, a virtually unknown musician at the time, was featured continually on the show. Her song Searchin My Soul became the theme song. Many of the songs Shepard performed were established hits with lyrics that paralleled the events of the episode, including Both Sides Now, Hooked on a Feeling and Tell Him. Besides recording background music for the show, Shepard frequently appeared at the ends of episodes as a performing at a local piano bar frequented by the main characters. On rare occasions, her character would have conventional dialogue, a portion of Searchin My Soul was played at the beginning of each episode, but remarkably the song was never played in its entirety. Several of the characters had a musical leitmotif that played when they appeared, two compilation albums from the show featuring Shepard were also released in 2000 and 2001

43.
Ling Woo
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Ling Woo is a fictional character in the US comedy-drama Ally McBeal, portrayed by Chinese-American actress Lucy Liu. A Mandarin-speaking Chinese-American lawyer, Ling has been described as cold and ferocious, at the time, she was the most famous and only significant representative of Asian women on US television. Thus, the portrayal of Ling Woo attracted much attention in the US. Ally McBeal is an American television series created by David E. Kelley which ran on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002, Ling Woo was a character written by Kelley specifically for actress Lucy Liu after she failed to secure the role of Nelle Porter in the show. Woo appeared for the first time in the season as a client suing a Howard Stern-like talk show host named Wick. She was suing because Wicks programs contributed to sexual harassment in her workplace, Wick claimed Woo brought suit because she had a slutty little Asian thing going, and Woo said that she wanted to sleep with Wick because if she did, she would kill him. The character proved to be a hit, and Liu was signed on as a regular for the series, Ling became a lawyer with the firm by pressuring Richard Fish, the firms senior partner, to hire her services as counsel. She remained a regular on the show until 2001, when her role was reduced to four episodes in the upcoming season, Lings employment history changes that season when the Governor of Massachusetts offers Ling a job as judge after Ling complimented her twin babies. Woo is a graduate of Cornell Law School where she was editor of the Law Review, Asian women are rarely given prominent roles on American television. In 1994 Margaret Cho had a brief prime-time show called All American Girl, when the show aired, there had not been another Asian-American-centered show or an Asian main character at the time the Ling character was created. Unlike the 1970s depictions of docile East Asian women on TV, Lings character was the opposite, but still a classic stereotype, that of the Dragon Lady. At the time, she was the only significant representative of Asian women on television in the United States and she remains the most memorable Asian TV character of the 1990s. Ling Woos character has described as the antithesis of Ally McBeals. For example, Woo is portrayed as evil, McBeal as good, Woo growls, at the same time, Woos verbal assaults present a fantasy of authority that appeals to even McBeal. Shes my hero, says McBeal, shes vicious, I disagree with almost everything she says, she treats me like dirt, Ling brings to mind the geisha, the unreadable Oriental, and the dragon lady. Describing her as fearsome, devouring, vicious, cool, and with an exotic sexuality, Georgia State University professor Greg Smith sees Woo as a stereotype of Asian women and her character was frequently used to examine matters related to gender definition and topics. Ling is the major character in Ally McBeal who does not have a story for the origin of her particular neurosis. She is exempt from the focus given to others in the series

44.
UPN
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The United Paramount Network was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16,1995. In December 2005, UPN was spun off to CBS Corporation when CBS, UPNs website is redirected to CBSs website after UPN is shut down along with The WB Paramount Pictures had played a pivotal role in the development of network television. The Paramount Television Network was launched in 1949, but dissolved in the 1950s, set to launch in early 1978, it would have run its programming for only one night a week. Thirty Movies of the Week would have followed Star Trek, Phase II on Saturday nights, Star Trek, Phase II was reworked as the theatrical film, Star Trek, The Motion Picture, absorbing the costs already incurred from the aborted television series. Paramount, and its eventual parent Viacom, continued to consider launching their own television network, in 1993, Time Warner and Chris-Craft Industries entered into a joint venture to distribute programs via a prime time programming service, the Prime Time Entertainment Network. Paramount formed the Paramount Stations Group in 1991 when it purchased the assets of the TVX Broadcast Group and this was not unlike the purchase of the Metromedia stations by News Corporation five years earlier, which were used as the nuclei for Fox. In another parallel, 20th Century Fox, like Paramount, had long been a powerhouse in television syndication, all indicators suggested that Paramount was about to launch a network of its own. The new network would be owned by Chris-Craft Industries, while most of its shows were to be produced by Paramount Television, Chris-Craft and Paramount/Viacom each owned independent stations in several large and mid-sized U. S. cities, and these stations formed the nuclei of the new network. UPN launched on January 16,1995, initially carrying programming only on Monday and Tuesday nights from 8,00 to 10,00 p. m. Eastern and Pacific Time. In contrast, The WB debuted one week earlier, on January 11, with four series – only one of which, Muscle, of the networks early offerings, only Star Trek, Voyager, Moesha and The Sentinel would last longer than one season. As a result of the lack of viewership, UPN operated on a loss and had lost $800 million by 2000, within nearly two years of the networks launch, on December 8,1996, Paramount/Viacom purchased a 50% stake in UPN from Chris-Craft for approximately $160 million. Like Fox had done nine years earlier, UPN started with a few nights of programming each week, the first expansion of its prime time lineup came with the addition of programming on Wednesday nights in the 1996–97 season. UPN ordered 36 science fiction films for its movie night beginning in 1998 from four producers with most coming from Paramount, some titles would be shown on Showtime first so the cable channel would aid in advertising the movies. UPN completed its prime time expansion in the 1998–99 season, with Thursdays and Fridays as the last nights of programming to be added to the networks evening slate. Despite what publicity Desmond received from its controversial topicality, the series suffered low ratings and was cancelled after four episodes. On March 17, New York Supreme Court judge Herman Cahn ruled against Chris-Crafts move for a permanent injunction to curtail the Viacom-CBS merger and the enforcement of Viacoms ultimatum. Unable to find a partner, on March 20, Chris-Craft allowed Viacom to buy out its 50% stake for $5 million. This gave UPN the rare distinction of being one of the only broadcast networks to not have had owned-and-operated stations in the three largest media markets, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago

45.
Kevin Hill
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Kevin Hill is an American legal drama that aired on UPN during the 2004–2005 TV season. It was filmed and produced in Toronto, Canada, the series stars Taye Diggs as the title character, a lawyer who has to balance his professional career and his love life with having custody of Sarah, his 10-month-old cousin. The season ended on a cliff hanger when the mother returned to demand Sarah back. Although critically acclaimed, Kevin Hill failed to attract sufficient ratings to be renewed after its first season, Kevin Hill at the Internet Movie Database Kevin Hill at TV. com

Texas Book Festival
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The Texas Book Festival is a free annual book fair held in Austin, Texas. The festival was established in 1995 by Laura Bush, then the First Lady of Texas, the first festival took place at the Capitol in November 1996. The festival takes place in late October or early November and it is frequently cited as one of the top book festivals in the U. S.

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A person reading a book at the 2012 Texas Book Festival.

Newark, New Jersey
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Newark is the most populous city in the U. S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. For 2015, the Census Bureaus Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 281,944, Newark is the second largest city in the New York metropolitan area, located approximately 8 miles west of lower Manhattan. Settled in 1666 by Puritans from New

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Campus of Rutgers-Newark and Downtown

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Market and Broad Streets, Downtown Newark

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Krueger Mansion in Newark's Central Ward

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Home in Forest Hill

Syracuse University
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Syracuse University, commonly referred to as Syracuse, Cuse, or SU, is a private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. The institutions roots can be traced to the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded in 1831 by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lima, after several years of debate over relocating the college to Syracuse, the univer

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Crouse College, a Romanesque building completed in 1889, housed the first College of Fine Arts in the United States. It is now the home of the university's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Setnor School of Music.

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Syracuse University

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A graduate of the Genesee Seminary, Henry Jarvis Raymond later went on to found The New York Times.

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Belva Lockwood was the first woman (or second, depending on one's opinion, after Victoria Woodhull) to run for President of the United States.

Idina Menzel
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Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Menzel rose to prominence when she originated the role of Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical Rent and her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination in 1996. She reprised the role in the musicals 2005 film adaptation, in 2003, Menzel originated the role of Elphaba in the Broa

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Menzel in 2004

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Menzel performing at the U.S. Capitol in May 2008.

United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean,

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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764

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Flag

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The signing of the Mayflower Compact, 1620.

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The Declaration of Independence: the Committee of Five presenting their draft to the Second Continental Congress in 1776

Rent (film)
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Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, the film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, drugs, paying their rent, and life under the shadow of AIDS. It takes place in the East Village of New York City from 1989 to 1990, t

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Theatrical release poster

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Rent (Original motion picture soundtrack)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by a transgender East German singer, Hedwig Robinson. The book is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music, the story draws on Mitchells life as the son of a U. S. Army Major General who once commanded the U. S. sector of occupied West Berlin. The character of H

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Original Poster Art

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Original Off-Broadway poster art

Private Practice (TV series)
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Private Practice is an American medical drama television series which aired on ABC from September 26,2007, to January 22,2013. Private Practice also revolves around Addisons co-workers at Seaside Wellness Center, and how they deal with patients, on May 11,2012, Private Practice was renewed for a sixth season. The sixth season was the first not to f

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Private Practice intertitle

How Stella Got Her Groove Back
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How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillans bestselling novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, the original music score was composed by Michel Colombier. As she soaks in the beauty of the island, she encounters a handsome

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Original theatrical poster

Brown Sugar (2002 film)
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Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of a friends, A&R Andre. The two can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single, seminal childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop

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Theatrical release poster

The Best Man (1999 film)
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The Best Man is a 1999 American romantic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It was produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, with Lees cousin, Spike Lee, the film stars Taye Diggs and Nia Long. A Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, was released on November 15,2013 with a reunited cast, Harper Stewart is a young m

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Theatrical release poster

The Best Man Holiday
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The Best Man Holiday is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It is the sequel to the 1999 film, The Best Man, the film was released on November 15,2013 by Universal Pictures. All the friends arrive at the house, the first time theyve come together in 14 years, at dinner, the old friends catch up while tensions g

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Theatrical release poster

Murder in the First (TV series)
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Murder in the First is an American detective anthology drama television series that airs on TNT. The series was created by Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal, and stars Taye Diggs, set in San Francisco, the show follows a single case across an entire season. The series aired for three seasons from June 9,2014, to September 4,2016, on October 11,2016, the

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Murder in the First

Rochester, New York
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Rochester is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in the western portion of the U. S. state of New York, and the seat of Monroe County. The citys population was the third largest — after New York City. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,079,671 at the time of the 2010 Census, a Census estimate of

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Rochester, New York

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An aerial view of downtown Rochester in 1938

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Bridge originally built as an aqueduct for the Erie Canal in 1842, replacing the original construction from 1823. It was subsequently used for subway trains and, in the 1920s, the Broad Street Bridge was erected on top of it. This photograph shows how it appeared in 2002.

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Rochester, NY Broad Street aqueduct interior in 2011.

Allendale Columbia School
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Allendale Columbia School is an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory school for students in nursery through twelfth grade in Rochester, New York, USA. Allendale Columbia students come from 28 different school districts in the greater Rochester, New York region, the school was named by Worth magazine as of one the top 100 feeder schools to

School of the Arts (Rochester, New York)
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School of the Arts is a progressive alternative public middle school and high school in Rochester, NY. The School of the Arts was founded in 1980 as a program at Wilson Jr. In 1981, the transferred to Monroe High School as was known as the School of the Arts at Monroe. Only grades 7-9 were represented that year, the school stayed at Monroe for many

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School of the Arts (SOTA)

Meredith, New Hampshire
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Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,241 at the 2010 census, Meredith is situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee. It is home to the Stonedam Island Natural Area and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, Meredith was first known as Palmers Town in honor of Samuel Palmer, a teacher of surveying and navigati

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Bird's-eye view of Meredith village

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Meredith village c. 1905

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Plymouth Street c. 1920

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Street scene c. 1912

New London, New Hampshire
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New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,397 at the 2010 census, in 1753, the Masonian Proprietors of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, granted the area now called New London as Heidelberg. Although it appears on some New Hampshire maps, the township was never settled, in 1773, roughly the same area was

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Town Offices

Tony Award
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The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for

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Designed by Herman Rosse, 1949

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Former logo

Carousel (musical)
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Carousel is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnárs 1909 play Liliom, the story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their child,

Tokyo Disneyland
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Tokyo Disneyland is a 115-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States, the park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in Califor

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A floral arrangement depicting Stitch as part of a celebration.

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Western River Railroad.

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Jonathan Larson
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Jonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for exploring the social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia in his work. Typical examples of his use of themes are found in his works, Rent. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the rock musical Rent, Larson was born to

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Jonathan Larson

Pulitzer Prize
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The Pulitzer Prize /ˈpʊlᵻtsər/ is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of American Joseph Pulitzer who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher, Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In

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Pulitzer Prize

Rent (musical)
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Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccinis opera La Bohème. The musical was first seen in a production at New York Theatre Workshop in 1993. This same Off-Broadway theatre was also the initial home following its official 1996 opening. The shows creator, Jonathan Larson, died suddenly of

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Original Broadway window card

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Life Café

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Rent at David Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan, New York City

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Cast of Rent performing "Seasons of Love" at Broadway on Broadway, 2005.

Andrew Lippa
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Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City, Lippa was born in Leeds, England. He emigrated to the US in October,1967 and grew up in Oak Park, Michigan and he attended Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan. While at the University of Mich

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Lippa in 2013

The Wild Party (Lippa musical)
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The Wild Party is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Andrew Lippa. Based on Joseph Moncure Marchs 1928 narrative poem of the name, it coincidentally made its debut during the same theatre season as a Broadway production with the same name. Both Queenie and Burrs have now met their emotional and sexual match, for a while, they live together h

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Original cast album

Manhattan Theatre Club
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Manhattan Theatre Club is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. MTCs many awards include 19 Tony Awards, six Pulitzer Prizes,48 Obie Awards and 32 Drama Desk Awards, as well as numerous Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. MTC has won the Lucille Lortel Award for

Chicago (musical)
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Chicago is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, the original Broadway

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Original Broadway poster art

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The Original Cast Recording

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Chicago: The Musical at the Ambassador Theatre, New York, May 2010

Norbert Leo Butz
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Norbert Leo Butz is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in Broadway theatre. He is a winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and he was raised in a middle-class family, his parents are devout Catholics. He is the seventh of 11 children in his family and is named

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Norbert Leo Butz in 2011

Wicked (musical)
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Wicked, The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. Produced by Universal Stage Productions in coalition with Marc Platt, Jon B and its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. The original Broadway producti

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Official poster of the original Broadway production

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Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz

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The Curran Theatre in San Francisco, where Wicked made its debut

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The original Broadway production has been at the Gershwin Theatre since its opening in 2003

Guiding Light
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Guiding Light was created by Irna Phillips, and began as an NBC Radio serial on January 25,1937. On June 2,1947, the series was transferred to CBS Radio, before starting on June 30,1952 and it continued to be broadcast concomitantly on radio until June 29,1956. The series was expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour during 1968, the series broadcast

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Guiding Light

Tantra
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Tantra is the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of 1st millennium CE. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable text, theory, system, method, instrument, in Hinduism, the tantra tradition is most often associated with its goddess tradition called

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Sri Yantra diagram with the Ten Mahavidyas. The triangles represent Shiva and Shakti, the snake represents Spanda and Kundalini.

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Tantric Feast, India, Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, circa 1790

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Making of a Tibetan Sand mandala.

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A sadhu smoking cannabis.

Doug Liman
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Douglas Eric Doug Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game, and Edge of Tomorrow. He has two siblings, Emily and Lewis, Liman began making short films while still in junior high school and studied at International Center of Photography in New York City. While a

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Liman at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party

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Liman at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2010

Go (1999)
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Go is a 1999 American crime comedy film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with intertwining plots involving three sets of characters. Around Christmas in Los Angeles, Ronna Martin, working overtime at her job to avoid being evicted, is approached at work by Adam and Zack. They were hoping to buy from her co-worker, Simon Baines, be

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Theatrical release poster

AWOL
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In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a duty or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning. In contrast, unauthorized absence or absence without leave refers to a temporary absence, the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard generally refer to this as unauthorize

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The Defector, by Octav Băncilă, 1906

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Deserteur (Дезертир), by Ilya Repin, 1917

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A United States wartime poster deprecating absence

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Armenian soldiers in 1919, with deserters as prisoners

Bridegroom
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A bridegroom is a man who will soon be or has recently been married. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and groomsmen, in the United States, the bridegroom usually wears a dark-colored suit for a daytime wedding or tuxedo for an evening ceremony. British tradition for a formal wedding requires the bridegroom, male ushers, bridegrooms

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Modern Azerbaijani groom

The Wood
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The Wood is a 1999 American coming of age film written by Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd and directed by Rick Famuyiwa. The film stars Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs, Roland is getting married and Slim, who scoffs at the idea of marriage, is furious at Roland for disappearing. Shy and awkward, Mike sticks out like a thumb on his first day.

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Theatrical release poster

House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
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House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American horror film, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Jeffrey Combs. It also includes an appearance by Peter Graves. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an am

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Theatrical release poster

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The surrealist CGI effects featured in the film's climax were inspired by H.P. Lovecraft

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House On Haunted Hill

William Castle
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William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attention of Columbia Pictures for his talent for promotion and he learned the trade of filmmaking and became a director, acquiring a reputation for the ability to churn out compe

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William Castle

House on Haunted Hill
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House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film directed by William Castle. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000, as the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. Pritchard disapproves of Lorens use of the house for his party, arriving late at night in separat

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Original film poster by Reynold Brown

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Vincent Price in House on Haunted Hill

America's Next Top Model
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Created and executive produced by Tyra Banks, the series premiered in May 2003, and was aired semiannually until 2012, then annually from 2013. The first six seasons were aired on UPN, before UPN merged The WB to create The CW in 2006, the following sixteen cycles were aired on The CW until the series was first cancelled in October 2015. The series

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ANTM logo, used 2003–2006.

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America's Next Top Model

Ally McBeal
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Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama television series, originally aired on Fox from September 8,1997 to May 20,2002. The series, set in the fictional Boston law firm Cage and Fish, on her first day Ally is horrified to find that she will be working alongside her ex-boyfriend Billy Thomas —whom she has never gotten over. To make things wor

Ling Woo
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Ling Woo is a fictional character in the US comedy-drama Ally McBeal, portrayed by Chinese-American actress Lucy Liu. A Mandarin-speaking Chinese-American lawyer, Ling has been described as cold and ferocious, at the time, she was the most famous and only significant representative of Asian women on US television. Thus, the portrayal of Ling Woo at

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Ling Woo

UPN
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The United Paramount Network was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16,1995. In December 2005, UPN was spun off to CBS Corporation when CBS, UPNs website is redirected to CBSs website after UPN is shut down along with The WB Paramount Pictures had played a pivotal role in the development of network television. The Par

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Proposed logo for the stillborn Paramount Network.

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United Paramount Network

Kevin Hill
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Kevin Hill is an American legal drama that aired on UPN during the 2004–2005 TV season. It was filmed and produced in Toronto, Canada, the series stars Taye Diggs as the title character, a lawyer who has to balance his professional career and his love life with having custody of Sarah, his 10-month-old cousin. The season ended on a cliff hanger whe

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The principal cast members from season 2 of New York Undercover (clockwise, from top left): Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn as Virginia Cooper, Lauren Velez as Nina Moreno, Michael DeLorenzo as Eddie Torres, and Malik Yoba as J.C. Williams.